| DATE | MEDIA TYPE | TITLE | CREATOR | SCORE | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/01/25 | Manga | Heaven/Hell of Uninterrupted Suffering | Shino Ura | 9 | An individual one-shot by Shino Ura as opposed to his other two releases being collections, and just as solid as any other story featured within them. This one-shot concerns a woman who wakes up every 6 months to find another of herself beside her, and how she chooses to deal with it. Immediately a very interesting premise and it doesn't let you down as it unfolds. I've really come to love Shino Ura's work and it's a shame that they've not been seen online since 2020. I really hope they're safe and doing okay - if they passed away during COVID then the world has lost a truly talented artist. 5 years down the line, I don't really expect to see them release any more manga, but I really do pray for their health and safety. |
| 04/01/25 | Manga | Fake Biography of the Sanjin | Shino Ura | 10 | Didn't know this was translated until I saw beta read it. Ura does it again, 7 phenomenal one-shots. I really like the oral history thing that it's going for in many of the stories, especially Fake Biography of the Sanjin. It's incredibly engrossing, and FBotS ends up being my favourite story in the collection easily due to it dedicating itself to being an oral history of Yamabito, a once ubiquitous species gradually driven to the point of endangerment. No bullshit either, the Sanjin ARE wild animals despite their resemblance to humans, they will kill savagely and there's no capacity to teach them or integrate them into human society. FBotS is the main event but the other stories are just as great, Incidental Details of a Mermaid River & Sister's Face Cat are my two other top favourites - but really there's not a miss here. Shino Ura's style really is unlike anything else. |
| 03/01/25 | Manga | Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san Comic Anthology Vol. 2 | Nanashi anthology | 3 | I've not been caught up on Nagatoro-san for a while. Read this just because it was the last translated thing of tugeneko's that was available. A lot of the artists don't understand the appeal of Nagatoro as almost all the stories turn the dial way towards ecchi shit so it wasn't that enjoyable. tugeneko's entry wasn't that notable either. I should probably go back and finish reading Nagatoro now that it's concluded. |
| 03/01/25 | Manga | Mahoroba Kissa | tugeneko | 9 | tugeneko's comedic style shines in the 4-koma format, and this manga ends up being the their best work due to that. Hardly the same sex comedy from Ueno-san, now resembling more and more something that Douman would release. Excellent cast, I think all of them are hilarious, especially Shiori - I wasn't expecting to like her as much as I did, these 'creature' characters in some comedy mangas like this remind me too much of how Puck ended up later in Berserk. but no Shiori really is the funniest character in most of the chapters. Had me laughing my ass off plenty of times. I hate that I keep bringing up Ueno-san while I'm talking about tugeneko's other manga, but I do find it a shame now more than ever, that tugeneko turned the dial so far towards sex comedy in it since they're a really, really good comedy mangaka I think. Both manga ran concurrently for a time so I guess everything was balanced out for a few years, but in the 5 years following Mahoroba Kissa's conclusion (and the 2 years since Ueno-san's conclusion where tugeneko has DISAPPEARED), it's a shame tugeneko hasn't done something new in the same vein. |
| 02/01/25 | Manga | Sukumizu! | tugeneko | 7 | Not as much of a sex comedy as Ueno-san and quite short, so tugeneko's comedic writing has more room to shine even if the premise of the manga is inherently kinda ecchi and it will still make those sorts of jokes semi-regularly - but due to the manga's brevity with 5 page chapters, it will not spend nearly as much time on them as Ueno-san. Art's still good and still very Douman-esque. I think the art is the main thing that draws me to this mangaka, I'm a big fan of their style. Kaho is a solid straightman lead, Kurumi didn't leave an impression on me, and I thought Kitahara was fun too. The girl with the cyan swimsuit that joins later has her moments as well but she's mostly just a vechicle for one specific joke. I was pleasantly surprised, as I was expecting this to be even more overt than Ueno-san - but it's pretty restrained and makes the most out of a silly concept. |
| 28/12/24 | Tokusatsu | Himitsu Sentai Gorengers | Toei | 5 | My first fully completed Sentai series. Boring to tears, Gorengers would be fine if it were 30 episodes tops but having to fill 84 episodes - nothing happens. Even in the last episode, nothing really happens & the Black Cross is destroyed solely because the Fuhrer was being unreasonably stupid. Gorengers doesn't really have much of a central driving plot so nothing really feels of concequence & even during the few status quo shift episodes it feels like little actually happens beyond the Black Cross General changing. I wonder how much this will happen in other sentai series, the antagonistic group shifting between different between different 'generals' as the season goes on - as Boonboomgers does pretty much the same thing to much better effect. The five rangers are alright, although I never really got much distinct character from Aoranger & Midoranger - Aka, Ki, & Momo are all pretty solid although definitely not on the same level as any of the Boonboomgers. The lack of a mech was a positive to begin with but it just means they fill the space with the exact same choreography against goons for the entire 84 episodes which isn't much better. |
| 27/12/24 | Tokusatsu | Kamen Rider W | Ryuta Tasaki, Riku Sanjo & Toei | 9 | My first fully completed Rider season. It was great, Shotaro & Phillip are an iron duo, a total joy to watch. Fuuto as a setting is easy to fall in love with, and befitting a detective story, Shotaro's many friends around the city fill it with life & energy. Every episode being a 2-parter works to the shows benefit with the detective gimmick as it gives it room to create fleshed out and wider dillemmas, it wouldn't have worked as well if most episodes were one-and-done. I'm interested to see how other Rider seasons flow when they're not following this rule. No real major complaints with this show, great all-around, it's light-hearted and very fun, glad it was my first full series and I'm excited to watch even more Rider. |
| 26/12/24 | Tokusatsu | Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate | Koichi Sakamoto & Toei | 8 | More or less just a souped up Kamen Rider W arc. The freedom to do crazier stunts and moves in the action scenes makes this a very fun & special watch within the larger Kamen Rider W experience. I liked NEVER but they ended up being just dopant versions of the Double memories - and the star of the show, Kamen Rider Eternal, isn't around for an incredibly long time which is a shame. |
| 25/12/24 | Movie | The Man With Two Brains | Carl Reiner | 7 | Haven't seen any other Steve Martin film other than Planes, Trains, and Automobiles which is spectacular. He's just as funny in this movie, and the start is fantastic for a comedy, gut-bustingly funny. It becomes less funny when they go to Austria for the rest of the movie however. The humour becomes less Airplane-y and more just typically silly, which is a shame. The main plot around the brain isn't flush with comedy so when the movie starts focusing more on that, it starts to slip. |
| 24/12/24 | Movie | Shallow Grave | Danny Boyle | 7 | I never heard of this movie before my parents recommended it to me. Danny Boyle's first film, before Trainspotting. There's a vaguely similar sort of energy in the ways the characters communicate but it's not really all too close. I think the start is brilliant, but after the body is buried, I think it falls off somewhat. There's a few brilliant scenes such as at the dinner, but I don't think watching David be weird in the attic is that exciting. I think it should have full-sent the flippant hedonism of these characters rather than becoming a flaccid suspense thriller. Nothing really happens much in the second half which is a shame. Good ending though. |
| 21/12/24 | Anime | Dandadan | Tatsu & Science SARU | 7 | It's well-directed, and as someone who's recently been getting into Ultraman there's so much to appreciate in Dandadan that I completely missed when I first read it. Great use of colour particularly especially within the empty spaces. I think the start of Dandadan, which this first season seems to aggressively encapsulate as it ends just before one of my favourite arcs begins to kick in, isn't that thrilling though. The arguing and banter between characters which makes up a whole lot of this season was more enjoyable to read than it was to watch, and some of the not-so-good romance tropes become more front-and-center in this medium. Okarun & Momo is a cuter thing overall here but you can tell a lot of this in anime form is gonna be that awkward kind of pebble-kicking which isn't that exciting to me. You really cant end on what seems to be a rape scene also, what a terrible decision and I think it brings the image of Dandadan down when you have the Serpo introduction, them getting naked when fighting Nessie, and now this onsen rape cliffhanger. Dandadan really isn't all about that - I think it really hits its stride like IMMEDIATELY after this season cuts off. I'm excited for season 2 but this really shouldn't have been a single cour anime. |
| 21/12/24 | Tokusatsu | Ultraman (1966) | Tsuburaya | 9 | Modern Ultraman has effectively engrossed me with Blazar & Arc. Thankfully, even the earliest Ultraman season is still brilliant, in much the same, and in much different ways. While modern Ultraman benefits from better choreography, more flashy visuals, and more ambitious events - the simplicity of 66 is super fun and on a technical level it's marvellous to watch how they utilize practical FX to bring these scenarios to life. It's overt in its seams, but I think it ends up being more impressive than the modern toku that relies wholesale on CGI. There's really not much that can replicate a real minature being destroyed by a real thing. I love the SSSP, I wasn't expecting to at first but they're all awesome characters, especially Ide. I wasn't expecting to like Hoshino either since I'm really not fond of the kids in Gorengers, it feels like a gimmick there and I've heard they make heavy use out of children in Kamen Rider Ichigo also, but Hoshino also grew on me, and I was shocked to see his status quo change to be an SSSP member halfway through the season. He's pretty competent. I'm also fond of the Ultraman in this season. He's infinitely simpler than Arc or Blazar, but in that simplicity he's really fun to watch, and he has some core Ultra abilities that still make him a force to be reckoned with despite never getting a huge powerup. Honestly, I might prefer the absence of hard powerups and new forms because you really can't beat strong hand-to-hand choreography. Watching Ultraman grab Red King by the neck and throw it over his shoulder until it died has this rawness blowing it up with the ultra special graviton sword he got from fighting Swordron doesn't. Ultraman also gores the kaiju fairly often which was shocking but it's also pretty cool. My only complaint is that the pacing can sometimes be rather slow, occasionally to the shows benefit and occasionly to its defecit. I'm dying to watch Ultraseven. |
| 20/12/24 | Manga | Scum and Glasses and Literature Girl (Fake) | Tanigawa Nico | 9 | Saw this recommended on the Bernard-jou AniList, and since the synopsis made it sound quite similar I decided to check it out. I was expecting to find something similar to Bernard-jou but less compelling, but surprisingly I thoroughly enjoyed the read. To my utter shock, this isn't a love triangle story with Koga & Moriya battling for Orihara's affection, Moriya's just happy for Koga to be there and to share his love for reading with the two who are using it as a cover for all the wrong reasons. Quickly, both Koga & Orihara are reading and getting a lot out of the experience - sort of like how Sawako starts getting more well-read in Bernard-jou. Makes great use out of the 4-koma format, a lot of funny chapters and the progression within the manga is engaging - not episodic thankfully. Orihara thinking Koga & Moriya were a gay couple for most of the manga was very funny, and it becomes even funnier when Koga catches on yet still doesn't really care to correct her. Only a 2 volume run also so doesn't overstay its welcome. My expectations were completely smashed, I'm sure I'll look back on this one quite fondly. This sort of surprise is why I love reading. Is 'literature girl' media peak? |
| 16/12/24 | Manga | Himizu | Furuya Minoru | 9 | Very heavy read, gave me feelings similar to reading Punpun, especially with that realistic ugliness of real people that both Furuya & Asano of that era are able to depict, art style is superb here. Sumida's life philosophy of beliving those that cause trouble for others are trash is a trapping I was in myself at a point in my life, and of course Sumida often ends up causing the most trouble of all simply because of his ineptitude and obsession to not be that person. Watching Sumida toil over his goal to kill a scumbag who's a danger before they can do anything and get none the closer to it is tough, especially with small arcs like giving the homeless guy shelter and a job, not knowing they're exactly the kind of trash he's looking to get rid off. What a fucking bleak ending too. I will be reading Furuya's other work. |
| 16/12/24 | Manga | Uenobon | tugeneko anthology | 3 | Ueno-san anthology - obviously other artists didn't really understand what was good about the main series and turned the dial way towards strong ecchi & fetish stuff. A lot of the artists end up writing the exact same premise too. Not really a lot to say, disappointing. |
| 15/12/24 | Manga | Ueno-san is awkward | tugeneko | 6 | I don't like sex comedies very much so I didn't have a lot of hope for this but I think it does end up being funny for the most part outside of the stupid inventions Ueno creates. Ueno and Yamashita are endearing and some of the side characters are pretty fun when they show up (and some are just more fetish slop). I'm not that fond of Tanaka, but I suppose he's one of the least grating male sex comedy leads i've come across so far. I like the flashbacks, chapters looking at the previous years science club were cool. The art and character designs also drew me in, tugeneko's style is very Douman-esque and it's obvious that a handful of the cast have designs that were at least somewhat inspired by Monogatari characters. Can't really say I dislike this, I think the worst thing about it is that it's a sex comedy and it has to swing for that sort of thing in some way or form every chapter, I think it'd be a lot better of a manga if it were a more typical romance comedy, but it definitely makes the most out of what it has. Thank you, beta. |
| 14/12/24 | Manga | Helvetica Standard | Arawi Keiichi | 8 | Short & funny. What's really good about this is the artbook half of each volume. Super cool if one enjoyed Nichijou. I'm not as diehard as other people but I enjoyed everything this offered a lot. |
| 13/12/24 | Manga | Spectral Wizard: The Most Powerful Spell (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 9 | This is a very unusual feeling story for Mozocry, whereas most works are typically individual chapters that build up a wider experience, Spectral Wizard 2 has a strong, direct, flowing sense of continuity through its enirety, focusing on the apparent revolt by Crystal Wizard against the Chivalric Order. While this story has a very strong first and final chapter, I think it suffers in the middle portion. I really wanted to like this more on reread, but I don't think the conspiracy with the Chivalric Order is exciting enough to be what drives the entirety of this manga. The Chivalric Order side not knowing why the sorcerers are doing what they're doing makes this section of the manga feel a little frustrating to read? It makes the ending just a bit sadder but I think having one of the biggest driving elements of something being a misunderstanding doesn't often work very well, and here it doesn't. My biggest issue with this one is that it feels weirdly incongruent with the ending of Spectral Wizard 1. Relentless Overtower, in a way, spurs on the action of the 'main antagonist', but I feel like its concequences are weirdly forgotten. Beyond fleshing out the world more, I don't think this manga achieves nearly as much as the first did, and in a way I'd prefer if it didn't exist. It's not nearly as bad as Kurosawa & Shin Kurosawa, but since I love the first Spectral Wizard so much, this manga doesn't quite do what it needs to fully live up to it. I realise this sounds incredibly negative but obviously, I still really like it. It's unconventional and unique, and plenty entertaining. |
| 12/12/24 | Manga | Nick & Lever | Miyata Kyogorou | 9 | I've been meaning to read this ever since I was in Austria last August and saw one of the chapters on Twitter. DAMN this manga has an insane art-style, every panel is pretty much a painting, the level of detail is fucking crazy. It has a style that no other serialisation could hope to attain. As a result of this insanely good style, every chapter is only a couple of pages, but it pairs very well with the manga's silly and often meta sense of humour. And the humour is damn good too, super funny. Only complaint is that it maybe goes for the death ending a little too much, but this is something even the manga is aware of so it doesn't damper the experience. Super fun read, I'm 100% gonna follow Miyata's future works. I'm surprised something like this got picked up to be serialised in a magazine in the first place. It seems like Miyata is a doujin artist for the very most part. He gets his own stuff translated into the English language also! What a hero. |
| 11/12/24 | Manga | Invitation from Rosa | Asari Neko & Satou Hajime | 5 | Aggressively boring. Grade-schooler boys in a rural village - I think this combination is more often than not going to create something that doesn't win. Not that I'm opposed to a story about corporatism infringing on the peace & nature of rural life, but when its grade-schoolers this conflict pretty much never has enough meat to back it up because grade-schoolers are incapable of anything except whining. The stuff with shooting stars and the little alien guys that appear, I don't give a shit, it's trying too hard to be meaningful & beautiful, when really it doesn't mean that much. |
| 11/12/24 | Manga | Spectral Wizard (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Spectra's between a rock and a hard place. Expected to stay quiet & docile while the organisation that destroyed her way of life, killed her friends, and drove her into this deeply lonely existence where she only has herself continues to research ways to execute her too. Expected to continue on as the Sorcerer's Guild did before, putting the pursuit of knowledge above all else no matter that harm that it could cause. In pursuing her own personal justice, she's even further hurt & excluded by both. It's really bleak and it hurts in that usual Mozocry fashion, especially in the more modern sense of being lost in ones emotions. The final chapter is perhaps my favourite of any Mozocry release. Listless and ready to die, Spectra is called upon to put a stop to a world-ending grimoire, slowly creating an infinitely tall tower that'll disrupt the spin of the earth. Spectra is encouraged to put aside how she's been hurt, and do it for the simple sake of being part of the world. Even when Spectra succeeds, the ending is grim. The tower easily extends into space and is indescructible. It might end up collapsing, it might not, and if it does, there's no telling when. The earth's ecosystem is already disrupted, its axis has already shifted. Very simply, it can not be undone. Despite how the world may change, nobody can turn back. |
| 11/12/24 | Manga | Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii | Hanasaki Manio | 3 | I'll probably never get the appeal of toxic romance manga. This manga in particular is unpleasant to read in every way and goes into numerous gross fetishes, often forced upon the other girl in some disgusting display of dominance. The only reason it's not lower is because I do think it's kinda interesting that it's not simply 30 chapters of the same thing, there's a role reversal early in the story and that, at least, kept my interest somewhat throughout. Outside of that plot thread, this manga is really boring to read, watching a bunch of vapid and unlikable characters gossip and do sick things. I think the ending is cool but it's not satisfying and was ultimately pretty uncompelling. If you're into this sort of thing then maybe it's beautiful but as someone who's not, it's pointless and devoid of any real meaning. |
| 07/12/24 | Manga | Kuroki Yodomi Hedoro-san (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | It's less about Kraunessa being a 'being of pure good' forced to contend with reality, but a story about running yourself thin in the service of others and the complexity of a persons feelings. Really connected the dots with the Knight Justice stuff at the start. Ms. Rimon arc is still heartwrenching. I was a lot more positive on Hikari and her friends this time. Before, I thought they were a horrible influence steering Kraunessa down a dark path, but they're pretty earnest people all things considered, especially Hikari. It's cool that Hikari's big 'goal' for getting Kraunessa to move was so she could help her and her 'friends' build a little farming patch together. And of course, the manga ends talking about the curse of birth, the expectations people put on you and the inevitablity that one won't grow to match them. Kraunessa being born of sludge to vindicate her from this curse, to show that her kindess was born entirely from herself and not a result of her composition, how beautiful. I don't think I really got the final panel last time, but I do now, and ooohhhh man. It's really powerful. One of the best in a roster of the all-time best. |
| 07/12/24 | Tokusatsu | Ultraman Blazar | Tsuburaya | 10 | My first completed Ultra series. Although I started with Q & Arc, Blazar's what has completely sold me on Ultraman. Whereas Q was about how a largely uncoordinated humanity deal with kaiju, Arc's kaiju response group, SKiP, felt a little 'volunteery' - even though they have weapons to harm the kaiju, they're in a tiny office and mostly concerned with making sure people are safe when a kaiju appears, only really having 3 members and a stupid robot. Blazar's SKaRD just makes a whole lot of sense to a new viewer, a militarised unit tasked with utilizing a cutting-edge anti-kaiju weapon, the Earth Garon, to respond to and eliminate kaiju when they appear. Entire SKaRD team is great, you quickly fall in love with all of them, the show does the right stuff to make them look compotent and deserving of their position in a team like this while still allowing for levity (and very good levity at that). The Ultraman of this series, Blazar, is incredibly fun to watch. Most of the Ultra's I've seen so far fight like a normal person with knowledge of wrestling moves, but Blazar is like an ancient ritualistic warrior from thousands of years ago. He fights with a sense of power and brutality, prays in battle, grunts in a way not like any other Ultra, jumps around like a kid when something good happens, and uses a massive spear of energy as his main weapon technique. It's a joy to watch Blazar fight, especially as he gets more powerful and gains more abilities as the show continues. Some of the best episodes I've watched in a toku so far. I'll be interested to see how high Blazar stays as I continue to submerge myself into the Ultra series. This might be the best modern entry point into the series. |
| 05/12/24 | Manga | The Tragically Sad Story of Hopelessness About Friendship (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Some people really should not be around one another, if they don't wish for their happiness to be mutually dampened. I was more positive on Buri & Eleki this read, obviously they're kind of dickheads but it's their way of life, and their being is incongruent with the Cyclops girl's being. The Cyclops girl is pretty optimistic and flexible, but it's clear she needs to make concessions to be in their presence and that they don't truly connect in any meaningful sense. In its simple message, this is one of the hardest Mozocry pills to swallow. Great stuff. |
| 05/12/24 | Manga | Beank & Rosa (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 8 | Still not quite sure what to make of this one. It feels like it has less of an overarching theme that the others often do. The first few chapters don't really relate to anything in the rest of the manga, such as the bee girl or the meat song. The stuff with Beank & Rosa themselves, it's very good, I like their relationship a lot, it's beautiful and there's a good few tender moments between them. I'm really lost on the end of the manga. It's sad, it really is, but more in the 'I really wish this didn't have to happen' sense instead of anything too complex. The tragedy in Game-bu, Mission-chan's misery, Mikaze's tortured way of thinking, the melancholy is all very deep, it builds up, and it's multifaceted. In Beank & Rosa, it's something painful happening but that's really just it. I think Beank & Rosa could have been something truly excellent if it had another volume or two. As it is, it's the most confusing part of Mozocry's work to me. |
| 05/11/24 | Manga | Melancholia | Douman Seiman | 9 | Douman employs a similar brand of continuity to these set of short stories in a similarly engrossing way. I like the whole apocalypse backdrop of this one. |
| 04/12/24 | Manga | Voynich Hotel | Douman Seiman | 9 | Was a bit wary of this since Douman also made Oddman 11 which I thought was disgusting for the most part. Douman quickly wins me over, this is a ton of fun. I'm enamored by the sense of continuity, and this sense of 'things-just-happening'. Maybe that sounds a little dull of me, but it's the best way I can describe it, characters get introduced and things happen in chapters and they're followed up on or develop further or unrelated stories loop back around into one another. Wow, it's super engrossing. Douman definitely makes an art out of it. By the end, I was sad to see it go. It was a very warm experience. Great setting and great characters. |
| 02/12/24 | Manga | Kirinji Gate | Tsukawaki Nagahisa | 9 | After Kabukicho Domination ended on a cliffhanger, not resolving the big plot thread, I was excited to drive into the third & final Kirinji part. This time, the lead is the high schooler(?) An Hakagure, kidnapped by the Yakuza as she resembles their rep player that disappeared, Red-Haired Daigo. I like An, she's fun, although oddly she's drawn naked really often which sticks out like a sore-thumb after the previous two parts avoided doing anything racy. The start of this manga is really stupid, with An running into the Kabukicho underground mall, Kirinji saving her from pursuing yakuza by... a 1-pin circle shape part of the floor falling through into the SECRET REP-PLAYER AREA, and taking a shot for An. Was Nagahisa just completely out of ideas on how to establish the moving part of this entry? The mahjong gameplay here is superb, what makes Gate interesting to read in comparison to the other two parts is that An is a complete beginner at Mahjong and you see her thought process as she learns the game. This would be probably the best thing for a beginner player to read if it wasn't behind two other parts that assume you have a good knowledge on the game. The rep-player world is incredibly exciting, this probably has my favourite selection of antagonists within the Kirinji series. CANON-G is probably the highlight, what an excellent character. I think this part still relies on coincidence and connection a bit too much though, with Kanon being in the same hospital as Koume while she's playing the Tenryuui match. The final showdown against White Majin lives up to the hype, although maybe could have been a little longer. An also gets sidelined by the end unfortunately. I do really like that White Majin could have lost time-after-time-after-time, but it was always stopped by the individual players greed of wanting to be the one to defeat them. Brilliant read, Kirinji's a must-read for all mahjong enjoyers. |
| 30/11/24 | TV | Like a Dragon: Yakuza | Sean Crouch & Yugo Nakamura | 5 | I'm not sure who this was trying to appeal to because it certainly wasn't fans of the games. Using the names of all these characters we know and love and setting it in this bizzare pastiche of Yakuza 1, I'm going to be honest and say it was hard to really care. I wish this was a story in the Yakuza world and maybe then it'd be at least a little more palletable. Majima & Nishiki actors do a really good job, Kiryu in the 80s sucked and he was pretty stiff in 2005 too. Fight scenes suck, not well choreographed. Pointless. |
| 02/11/24 | Manga | Day of the Revolution | Tsuda Mikiyo | 6 | It can be funny but for the most part it's just kinda creepy. The final two chapters are also weirdly disconnected from the others. I don't really have a lot to say about it. I dig the artstyle but its a pretty standard genderswap story. |
| 28/11/24 | Manga | Shibatarian | Iwamuro Katsuya | 6 | There's some cool stuff near the start, I think the initial premise isn't half-bad, but it really goes down the shitter fast. You can tell they really want to be like Fujimoto, with all the cinema shit and just how beats are structured and come off. It's highly reverent to movies in the same way Fujimoto's stuff is and it does similar stuff like the famous cinema scenes and whatnot, but it doesn't have the meat to back it up. Everything that happens in this manga is just trite, shallow, and talentless. I would be more positive on it if it concluded after the movie half, it continues going and then they wrap up the arc super quickly because obviously, the manga got canned because its not very good. I gave it a 6 because some part of me is fond of the very early bits, when its setting up Shibata (I still have a lock & home screen combo of the reveal of the cinema full of Shibatas), but really, it's shit and uninspired. |
| 28/11/24 | Manga | Tetsunaki no Kirinji: Kabukicho Domination Arc | Tsukawaki Nagahisa | 9 | Phenomenal, the first Kirinji was an excellent manga and this sequel series elevates the formula to a whole new level. Kirinji, to pay for his wife's surgery bil, decides the only way he can make a sufficient amount of money to achieve this is to get scouted as a rep-player. This is a really exciting idea and something I never really thought about. Rep-players appear as a concept a ton in Fukumoto's mahjong works, tasked with playing over some of the most eye-watering stakes you can imagine, seeing Kirinji aspiring to become one makes this manga hit the ground running, truly. The Kabuking & Lyndon Lyndon arcs are generational, impossible to tear yourself away from, the velocity builds and builds and builds until everybody is practically crying over their tiles in deluded aspirations of complete granduer. Ohhh my fucking god, it's intoxicating. Unfortunately, I think it does begin to lose its steam a little bit, the VIP lounge is excellent but the calling restriction imposed on Kiriya... while it does make things interesting... I really don't like a handicap being imposed on one person and nobody else. Same reason I didn't like the HERO arc where Hiroyuki has to blind himself to play a match. Homer is way too easy-going too, there's not that much tension in the arc. The online mahjong stuff that's sorta in the same arc with CANON-G is fucking superb however. The very last arc, in the final parlor of Evil Baby, really lets the whole thing down. Contrary to one of this mangas greatest distinctions in comparison to Fukumoto's mahjong work, the complete lack of cheating, the final opponent played in this manga is cheating, with a method that is so moronic and obvious that it just pisses you off to look at. People call this guy a 'magician' even though he plays every game with his phone in his hand pointing his camera at the table and everyone elses hands. It's silly. The last thing letting it down is that nearing the end, they keep making it so every character and every opponent has some level of connection to one another, like some crazy thing happened in their past that relates to their reason to keep playing mahjong and its like, Kirinji's ex-wife, or Utan, or Gotoh, or some stupid shit. It gets beyond the point where you can't suspend your disbelief, just keeps happening and happening. This is a phenomenal read, especially in the first half, but it does let itself down just enough that I can't give it a 10. Shame. |
| 26/11/24 | Manga | Tomorrow is Saturday | Yamamoto Souichirou | 9 | Found this while rolling random manga on MangaDex. Apparently it's a Teasing Master Takagi-san spinoff but I didn't catch onto that until I finished. This was a lot of fun, very Azumanga-ish in the Tomo-Yomi way, ton of great energy between the three leads. Mina's probably my favourite, I like these kind of idiot characters, even if Yukari is very Yomi-like. The chapters are all short, and it was only a short 50 chapter run which is a shame, because I'd totally read this for hundreds of chapters. It was a magical read and an unexpected hit, definitely one of my top SOL mangas. I'll be rolling random stuff on Mangadex more often I think. I'm picking up Takagi-san off the back of this. |
| 26/11/24 | Manga | Black Cat's Love Suite. | Takamiya Satoru | 8 | Four loosely connected one-shots. Most of them are quite good, some very beautiful moments. Not very long but makes the most of its length, and the art is quite pretty. 2000's manga my beloved. |
| 26/11/24 | Manga | Arabian Nights!? | Nanase Kai | 7 | Good art, funny when it counts. It's kinda fucked up the guys parents were like 'please look after our son' and then like a day after landing he's having sex with the guy. Suuuper funny. The Seshir stuff is definitely more for the sexual gratification, I think, whole manga Seshir and the big Arabian man (sorry i don't remember his name right now) not being able to communicate and then just getting railed because they are gay lovers, not much meat other than that. I enjoyed it though, I think this is my first yaoi manga finished. Somehow more beautiful than most yuri I have read. |
| 25/11/24 | Manga | The Gentle Younger Boyfriend Who Keeps Pestering You About Finishing Sekiro | Yasuda Kousuke | 5 | The joke was not that funny. |
| 25/11/24 | Manga | Irotoridori no | Yomoto Shimako | 7 | Simple and feel-good although not really much more than that. |
| 25/11/24 | Anime | Symphogear GX Omake | Satelight | 8 | Just as funny as the first, especially since the villain cast in GX was so good. Lot of funny gags and I'm grateful they chose to produce even more episodes than the first set of omakes. I'm going to miss the Auto-Scorers... |
| 25/11/24 | Anime | Symphogear G: Non-Songs of the Valkyries (rewatch) | Satelight | 8 | Still really funny. Rewatched as was with friend who hadn't seen then before we watched the GX omakes. Seriously, why is the cover for this a swimsuit shot on AniList... |
| 23/11/24 | Manga | Hebi Onna Hajimemashita | Takahashi Yousuke | 8 | More short stories in the same vein as Tetsunagi Oni, so my thoughts here are much the same as they were there. Surreal and sometimes gross, but usually quite funny and at the very least, incredibly interesting. I definitely want to read more of Yousuke's work. |
| 23/11/24 | Manga | Tetsunagi Oni | Takahashi Yousuke | 8 | Short story selection by the Milk guy I read on a whim afterwards. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed all these stories. They're all short and succinct and kinda end on a gag, but the art and progression's all real superb and makes it fun. I think this might technically be ero-guro? Yousuke's a damn good artist, him being in the industry for so long and retaining this more modernised 80's style, I like it a whole lot. I want to read more of their work. |
| 23/11/24 | Manga | The Time Milk Wound The Spring | Takahashi Yousuke | 7 | Silly, short, fun. Don't have a ton to say, it's quite vintage I suppose, being from 1980. Looks very nice and entertained me. |
| 22/11/24 | Manga | Game-bu (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Even better on a reread, this feels like the first 'modern' Mozocry manga, taking on much more of a overall fun tone while also dipping into their trademark melancholy when the time comes. Game-bu may have my favourite cast of any Mozocry manga. Okano's little club is a lot of fun, it's magical watching these characters map out their games and bring it to life. It reminds me of my own game development classes in high school. Okano's my favourite character still, it's really endearing how she fleshes out every little detail of a game into this wide, interesting narrative. It's clear she's really enjoying herself. The 'tragedy' in Game-bu is excellent, still, what a powerful ending, and it's the ultimate truth of life. I love this work a lot and it demonstrates how varied Mozocry can be. You can tell a lot of this is fuelled by their own personal love for video games, and the process of creating them. |
| 19/11/24 | Manga | End of Goldfish Kingdom (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Still my favourite Mozocry, I think. Mikaze struggling to come to terms with the reality of life as a human, as a creature of the earth, powerful stuff. Such a simple premise but it's so deeply engrossing, can't tear myself away. I'm rereading this another time in Japanese to one day crack through to the 4 chapters that were never translated into English. Goldfish Kingdom being Mozocry's only real continuing 'legacy' series, I'm madly interested in how they drove the story forward from the point the translations end. Mikaze & Yuka are drawn incredibly often for Mozocry's Fanbox & Halloween series, both having different designs (especially Mikaze, now with a ponytail and looking noteably more stoic), I'm sure it's entered another arc. My biggest wish is that Mozocry concludes this as a series before they stop doing manga. |
| 18/11/24 | Manga | Mission-chan no Daibouken (reread) | Imitation Crystal | 10 | I ended up resonating with this a lot more on a reread. Mission-chan can't escape from her misery no matter what, and her attempts to redefine herself to fight against said misery always fizzles out in the face of the invetiable work in front of her. It's incredibly bleak but it's a brilliant pastiche of the reality of working especially in the absence of any real direction. |
| 17/11/24 | Visual Novel | Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Chapter 2: Watanagashi | 07th Expansion | 8 | It's been a while since I read the first chapter. I enjoyed it a lot but visual novels as a medium were off-the-table given my work situation for a couple of years. Now that I have more freedom and spurred on by a friend recently finishing the series, I decided to resume reading. Chapter 2 was excellent, the SoL scenes were even better than the first. They're really excellent and a ton of fun. The Shion mystery had me guessing for a while and was the highlight of the chapter. When you come to the truth of it, oh my, it was excellent. The murder mystery part was also quite good, although maybe longer than it had the meat to sustain. Looking back on it, the 'truth' is a little simplistic, and really anybody could have guessed who was the perpetrator. The road there was good but I think a further level of diversity post-taboo would have elevated the chapter a little more. Curse or Human status this chapter: Curse! I think there's too big of a logic gap to explain that everything was due to humans. Two very glaring inconsistencies pointed out at the end, and while one can be explained, the other I think really cannot. I'm sure I just lack the info. |
| 16/11/24 | TV | The Penguin | Lauren LeFranc | 9 | Superb crime drama, I really didn't care for The Batman movie whatsoever but this show really develops Gotham into a place I can believe exists. Colin Farrell kills it as Oz, I don't know why I was getting a Tony Soprano feeling from him. but he does a truly excellent job. I think the stuff like Gotham's prison system is a little zany but it really does sell it much more than the movie, I woudn't mind if they keep making stuff in the same stead as The Penguin. Maybe the second The Batman movie will be better than the first, too, and there's a wellspring of potential in this universe. |
| 14/11/24 | Anime | Symphogear GX | Satelight | 9 | More Symphogear goodness, I think it fills in the last piece that the previous two seasons were missing by featuring a fun, interesting group of antagonists and relying much, much less on the Noise. Not to say I don't like the antagonist cast of Symphogear G, but I think having an understanding of what the antagonists in GX want immediately instead of this weird cloud where you don't really know what they want, while actively threatening you with the possibility that the boring season 1 antagonist Fine might make a return, is more engaging on a season-wide level. The Auto-scorers really are so fun, in personality and in visuals also, I love the ornate poses they often hold as a result of being dolls. Carol's motivations are a little hollow, but she's more charismatic than the previous main antagonist, so I'm a fan. The three G Symphogear users joining the main case is also a big positive, they all have great voices and their gears are leagues more interesting than the main trio. Kirika & Shirabe quickly become my favourite characters since it's not only a joy to see them fight, but both their individual and duet songs are simply awesome. I was really anticipating each time they'd come on-screen because of how much fun I was having watching them. Symphogear outdoes itself again. I saw that a fellow Imitation Crystal fan says Symphogear is their favourite anime. A sign of kino to come? |
| 10/11/24 | Manga | Yuugai Shitei Doukyuusei | KUROHA | 2 | A sex comedy so dogshit that it makes Root Paradise look like fine art. I don't know why I read it. It's short as fuck but it was a complete slog to try and push myself through reading it. Don't check it out. |
| 07/11/24 | Manga | Qualia the Purple | Shirou Tsunashima | 9 | I really wasn't expecting this manga to go where it did when I was starting it, but it was a pleasant surprise. Very Steins;Gate, I love that sort of twisting of physics concepts to create these different systems that work in interesting ways for the sake of the story. I liked all the characters, and the art's pretty strong for what it is, not excessively stylistic but it does the job fine. It got some tears in the corner of my eye at points too. It's just great, so diverse in just 21 chapters. |
| 07/11/24 | Manga | Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly | Kyouko Okazaki | 6 | I was expecting more of a body horror angle with this one and while it's somewhat there... it's also similarly filled with that sense of disinterest present in RIver's Edge. I guess it makes more sense when it's concerning the vain world of fashion. Liliko's a terrible, vindictive person who's constantly causing harm to those who work with her and come through her path. There's inklings of humanity with stuff like her family, but by and large Liliko's just insane and does a lot of insane shit. Even though it's 9 chapters I feel like it does end up dragging a bit as it's a bit repetitive in Liliko's cruelty. There were parts where it was implying that Liliko's body was gonna start falling apart from being pretty much entirely fake but it never really comes into fruition, and goes back to more cruelty. Okazaki's art ends up being a negative here as a lot of the characters just look way too similar, the stylist Gin & the manager Habe look almost identical and if Liliko wasn't saying their name then often I just didn't have a clue who was who. I didn't even know Gin was a guy for most of it. This happens with a couple of other characters too. I'll say that I didn't really understand the stuff leading to the ending, lot of abstract visuals & speech which I'm assuming is partially Twin Peaks inspired (I wouldn't know), and then the final page made me feel like it was all a bit pointless. Her body looks fine, beyond a couple of scars. How boring. |
| 06/11/24 | Manga | A Love Letter for the Marching Puppy | Tama Tamasaki | 7 | Beautiful art but is way too shoujo for the setting, and I called what they were going for as soon as Kagami's aunt was revealed. I dunno, I wish the setting was played more seriously, it has the same problem I had with Yagakimi in that it moves too quickly, Indou gets kissed in like the first or second chapter and it just feels weird more than it feels nice, although it didn't bother me as much as it did there. This officer academy having third-years make moves on first-years so often that they have an informal name for it... okay. There's not really that much to say about the military aspect of it and it seems like it's mainly just for the device of having Indou's mother die. It's all a little too artificial I think, there's a handful of nice moments but, yeah, maybe too shoujo for its own good which probably isn't my thing when it comes to romance manga. |
| 05/11/24 | Manga | not simple | Natsume Ono | 9 | Phenomenal stuff, Ian can find neither comfort, home, nor family anywhere he goes, even in his last moments he is used and thrown away, despite the pity those around him seem to show. It's a really heartwrenching manga, nice and short and doesn't stay on one thing for too long. Ono's art is awesome in this, simplistic but very stylistic, I love the big eyes and the freeness of how each panel is illustrated. I wish I had more to say but it really is a 'you gotta see it to believe it' manga. I'm gonna check out Ono's other work too, although unfortunately it seems she doesn't really use the style depicted here anymore. |
| 05/11/24 | Manga | River's Edge | Kyouko Okazaki | 7 | It's both the manga's charm & the manga's worst point that its filled with a pervasive sense of disinterest, exhibited by every character and present in every moment. I guess it fits for a coming-of-age story, but it does make it hard to read or to care when the characters don't really care either. I enjoyed it though. Okazaki's art is nice, but can sometimes be too simple or scratchy, when she really puts some detail on a character it looks great. Wakakusa's a bit of an odd egg and I can't really get that much of a grip on her thoughts or feelings, especially around Yamada & Kanonzaki, she feels way too passive around the crazy shit they're doing. |
| 03/11/24 | Manga | Fukumoto All-Stars | Chiromaru | 6 | Has its moments, but it's not overwhelmingly funny like Hagiwara or the Zawa anthology, I'm not that fond of the chibi artstyle and the premise of all these different Fukumoto characters living in the same neighbourhood... I dont really give a shit, I was often pretty bored and had to push myself through reading this even though its only 30 or so chapters. There ARE some good gags but they're few and far between and this work creates a weird abstraction of everybody's characters (20 year old Akagi constantly talking about chopping peoples arms off...) that its not really satisfying to read this as a fan who knows and loves a lot of these characters. |
| 01/11/24 | Anime | Getter Robo: Armageddon | Ishikawa & Brain's Base | 10 | I fell in love with the original manga run of Getter Robo (sans Arc, still need to read), its something that's good from the start but just gets better and better as it progresses, the more typical super robo stuff of the 70's and 80's blossoming into an epic cosmic horror showing the dangers of unfettered technological advancement without true understanding of the extent of what they're working with. Each individual part ends up being quite short, however, and I think the series truly finds its groove in Go, where the cosmic horror elements take root for good as a core part of Getter Robo as a series. Getter Robo: Armageddon is a 13 episode realisation of the full potential of Getter Robo & a celebration of how groundbreaking Ishikawa's work was. Armageddon is in its own continuity, mixing together many characters and elements from different parts into a big 'Best of Getter'. I like it a lot, the whole thing feels very gratifying, every episode had me in my element and there's so, so many awesome moments, fights, revelations. I wish all Getter anime was like this. The Getter Robo series is without a doubt the king of super robo anime for me, and Armageddon is the foremost achivement in earning that crown. |
| 31/10/24 | Manga | Bonnouji | Aki Eda | 10 | This is the sort of shit I want to see more of while reading a romance manga. Bonnouji's so laid-back and feel-good, the dynamic between Oyamada & Ozawa being born from Ozawa finding a place where she can shoot the shit & just have fun after work & get away from her own apartment after getting broken up with, it feels organic & it's simply enjoyable to watch. You just get it, I'm sure anybody'd love to go to Oyamada's apartment and just hang out, and that environment'd certainly spark love in my heart. Oyamada's brother sending boxes full of fun shit while he marathons all temptations in preperation for becoming a Buddhist monk is a good story device and it's intruiging even for the reader to see what Bonnouji's been sent. Even after the couple get together, the manga has a lot to say about the physical aspect of the relationship and the pressure to get married & the worry that marriage might ruin what they have. I'm thankful it doesnt lose its heart, its a short run and I don't really think it needs to be any longer or shorter, its perfect in my eyes. |
| 30/10/24 | Manga | Yankee Girl in Love | Sachiko Orihara | 6 | I think the premise is oookay, but the execution's a bit shit and for a comedy manga I didn't find it that funny. Sudou's friends are a fun bunch, especially the later introduced Yuzuki but the main character Nagi fucking suuuuuucks. He's bland as white bread and his interactions with the cast aren't that great, and I feel sorry for Sudou that she needs to deal with this awkward dickhead that doesn't really seem to like her all that much for a good chunk of the manga. The ending was nice with everybody getting to go to their ideal high school.... except Yuzuki, which left a bad taste in my mouth. It's like if Azumanga Daioh ended with everybody going to the same high school except for Yomi, after that stretch of not quite reaching the bar and trying her hardest to reach it (my favourite part of Azumanga btw). It's such a bummer that it kinda overwhelms everything else that's happening. |
| 30/10/24 | Manga | Yuugai Muzai Gangu | Ura Shino | 10 | Four distinct one-shots. The first three are all phenomenal and moved me in much different ways, and the fourth is pretty good too. The first one-shot plays with the medium in incredible ways and is constantly hitting you with wildly interesting thought experiments. The second one-shot is stellar in its deeply lonely atmosphere covering an unfathomably long span of time (and the eyecatches with the girl superimposed onto real world locations are super cool). The third one-shot's my favourite, I guess it can kinda be described in a similar way as the second one-shot, but the big difference is that its concerning an immortal, brainless creature that can only wander while never really feeling anything - this one got tears out of me, it really is so beautiful and heartwrenching. The fourth one-shot is maybe a bit too abstract for me and lacks the strong character hook of all the previous 3, but it's an enjoyable read still and doesn't put a damper on the work as a whole, not at all. There's little I can do to convey how phenomenal this collection is with my own words, so please go and read it yourself. |
| 29/10/24 | Manga | Giji Harem | Yuu Saitou | 8 | Haven't read a lot of hetero romance manga so randomly picked this one. It's cute, and while I'm not totally in love with the gimmick of the girl acting out different stereotypical harem characters, the manga's short run means it doesn't overstay its welcome. Both the main character and the love interest are kinda dorky which is charming, plenty of homerun moments. Good stuff. |
| 27/10/24 | Manga | Tetsunaki no Kirinji | Nagahisa Tsukawaki | 8 | I've not really read a mahjong manga not done by FKMT so I decided to branch out to Kirinji, a series I'd seen livetweeted while I was on holiday and grew quite fond of seeing. Tsukawaki's art is excellent for a first series, fun & expressive characters and plenty of fun metaphorical delusions in relation to the game depicted a la Fukumoto. Thankfully the mahjong playing itself is pretty grounded, the online mahjong vs real world mahjong stuff was pretty awesome and watching Kirinji and the people around him adapt to the difference in playstyle is gripping. I like Kirinji himself a lot, a deadbeat dad but still plenty loveable in the way that he puts everything into his mahjong so that he can provide for Koume. His entire thing is hallucinating his daughter while he's in a flow state, ends up being super cool. I was expecting to hate the doctor for being so selfish (which he still is) but by the end I could understand why he's so desperate to beat Kirinji. A brief 42 chapters, really can't go wrong, I enjoyed myself a lot reading this and I'm definitely gonna blast through the sequel mangas next. |
| 27/10/24 | Manga | Jujutsu Kaisen | Gege Akutami | 6 | I finished this a while ago but was so indifferent that I didn't log it in my AniList until now. I don't have a lot to say about the end of Jujutsu Kaisen, the series was mostly being held up in public conciousness about what it *could* be in the future, but it falls into a conclusion much too hastily and leaves a mass of untied threads. It's simply disappointing. I hope Gege's next serialisation is a little more thought-out. |
| 24/10/24 | Manga | Bocchi The Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy-Drinking Diary | Kumichou | 9 | Kikuri has her moment when she's introduced in Bocchi the Rock, but throughout the rest of the series her entire presence is being a pathetic bother to everybody who comes into contact with her. Not so much shown as a teacher to Bocchi nor SIDEROS. Kikuri Gaiden does a LOT for her, fleshing out many of her appearances from the main series to show more of the background about what she was doing, or interactions she had with other characters off-screen, or showing how the characters around Kikuri react to various things throughout the run of the series. Kikuri's still a pathetic drunkard who causes trouble, but it's treated with some more weight here. There's a lot of chapters where people who have known Kikuri for a while are obviously somewhat broken-up about the state she's in now, more than a few chapters where Kikuri's contemplating sobriety or is forced into it for whatever reasons and is forced to grapple with what he's been drinking to dull, chapers where Kikuri can hardly even speak because she's on the verge of alcohol poisoning. I like this depiction of her a lot more and how the people around her interact with her, it's a lot more human. Kikuri Gaiden's maybe a bit TOO sappy, but I'm a sucker for that kind of thing, and I think Kumichou is doing a ton of heavy lifting in realising the potential for Kikuri as a character in this sort of setting and showing so many sides of her that the main series would never. |
| 24/10/24 | Manga | Bocchi The Rock! | Aki Hamaji | 8 | I've read up to chapter 40 in the past, I really enjoy the anime so I was disappointed to find it was in a 4-koma format and doesn't really attempt to depict the performances in much detail (maybe I'm just really spoiled by SHIORI EXPERIENCE), but this time I really didn't mind and I found myself quite getting into it. The parts beyond what the anime covers are definitely more compelling than the parts that it does, with one exception, the manga gets better with the more characters it begins to feature, which is something I thought I wouldn't really like that much for this series but it works very well. Kita grew on me a lot, she was on the lower end of my favourite characters from Bocchi from the anime, but she gets a lot of great moments to shine and show her growth. |
| 23/10/24 | Manga | Gunsmith Cats | Kenichi Sonoda | 9 | Excellent, and I mean VERY excellent action here, definitely the best action I've read concerning guns & especially driving, it's buttery-smooth to follow and just so fucking cool. I loved the Riding Bean & Gunsmith Cats OVAs but the manga is a step above even those in its action. Dynamic & fun cast, especially the leads Rally & May, found myself really liking the informant Becky too, she's a fun straight-man. Bean Bandit is still just as cool as he was in his OVA and pretty much unchanged as a character, there's no beating perfection, although I do miss his crazy pimped out vehicle, it's not nearly as insane here. Sonoda's art is beautiful, incredibly detailed when it counts, and very diverse character designs. My only real complaint is the manga features a lot of gratuitous nudity, even when its not necessary and doesn't add a lot, and with characters I really wish they wouldn't, it's not ovely distracting and doesn't ruin the manga but even if it were just a bit toned down, I think it would have been for the better. Gunsmith Cats has left an aching hole in my heart, I hope to find other manga that can capture a similar feeling to this, and I'm excited to read the sequel series BURST in the near future. |
| 19/10/24 | Manga | Gambling Emperor Legend Zero: Gambling Spirit Arc | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 9 | I forgot to read this one when it actually released, oops. Although originally letdown when i found out that it pretty much doesn't follow up on the original cliffhanger from the first part, I was quickly surprised to find this new Zero was damn good, the first arc at the golf course felt just out of Gin To Kin with a multilayered scam. Zero's a lot better of a protagonist in this part, less concerned about going against people like Zazen's morals, and more concerned about simply winning. The poker arc was a ton of fun, both Elizabeth's version & Zero's version. Elizabeth's a pretty fun Fukumoto villain if only just because she really doesn't stand a chance against Zero, and there's zero fat in their standoffs, the modest 30~chapters making it all very to the point. I liked that quite a bit. I know a lot of people don't like the scavenger hunt part of the manga but I had a lot of fun reading it, again the chapter count is quite modest so I don't feel like any part of it overstays its welcome, it's a novel idea for a Fukumoto arc and I welcome it. I think the family stuff surrounding the scavenger hunt is pretty nice too, and the ending's a lot less abrupt than the first part, although it's another cliffhanger LMFAO. I hope it does end up getting a third part before Fukumoto's retired, it would be a shame to leave it hanging like this. |
| 16/10/24 | Manga | Akagi Zawa... Zawa... Anthology | Fukumoto Anthology | 8 | It's funny, there's not that much to say, just a bunch of different small comedic stories from different artists. I love Akagi. |
| 16/10/24 | Manga | Nikaidou Hell Golf | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 10 | I thought Kurosawa was pretty harsh but Nikaidou is a whole other level of harsh, depicting a man who is wholly committed to his dream of passing the Pro Test so he may become a pro golfer and his failures time, after time, after time, after time, after time in achieving that goal. An incredible amount of time passes in pursuit of this goal and he's just never able to obtain it. Him continuing to go for it is almost like a form of self-harm, and he squanders what happiness he's able to find outside of his aspirations in the pursuit of them. So much happens in just a short 33 chapters, its a big contrast to Fukumoto's usual style of drawn-out suspense, but it's so effective. I'm really excited to see where the manga'll go, I don't think Fukumoto would ever write something to discouraging if he didn't have some purpose behind it so I'm very excited to discover what it'll be. |
| 15/10/24 | Manga | Yamima no Mamiya | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 7 | It's nowhere near the level of Ten or Akagi, but Mamiya still ends up being a solid mahjong manga moment-to-moment. Mamiya as a protagonist I feel kinda ambivalent towards. She's a lot of fun, very dynamic, but maybe a bit overly so. She's CONSTANTLY taunting Onigashira, like she seriously does not let off, there are points where you just want her to shut up and get back to playing. Not to mention how the start of the match is like 8 chapters of Mamiya shouting 'You want to have sex with me! You want to have sex with me!', it's silly at best and grating at worst. The Yami ability isn't used that often either even though its the whole original part of this manga in comparison to Fukumoto's other mahjong manga, as Mamiya's missing most of her points by the time she even arrives at the venue. I don't understand why Fukumoto would write it like that. |
| 14/10/24 | Manga | Shoujo Tsubaki | Suehiro Maruo | 7 | Deeply disturbing and tough to get through in its meager 8 chapters. This is good! It's the point! Unlike what little other ero-guro I've come into contact with, this isn't pornographic or overly gorey. Maruo's a very talented artist. |
| 09/10/24 | Manga | The Legend of the Toughest, Nakane! | Kenji Yokoi | 6 | A Kurosawa spinoff this time. It's not nearly as good as the Kaiji ones as this was not done by Hagiwara. Beyond the funny parallel to the start of the original Kurosawa in the first chapter, this whole thing is incredibly fucking vapid. The premise is Nakane getting addicted to getting likes on Instagram and him deciding to make this Instagram bullshit part of his job as a banker. I really don't give a shit. I heard the second volume of this just resets the story and completely throws out the first volume which is all that's translated right now. I hope the rebooted story is a little stronger. |
| 08/10/24 | Anime | Bocchi the Rock! Re: & Re:Re: | Hamaji & CLOVERWORKS | 8 | Two compliation movies for Bocchi I saw in cinemas. They're pretty good, it was awesome getting to hear the performances with cinema audio. It was just me and a very beautiful asian woman in the theatre and for some reason she was sitting in the seat next to me. Enhanced the experience, I think. |
| 08/10/24 | Manga | Ichijou: Life in Tokyo | Tensei Hagiwara | 10 | Kaiji Part 2 is my favourite part of the Kaiji series, and Seiya Ichijou is one of my favourite antagonists. A young, vein, spiteful casino manager who wants nothing more than to see Kaiji lose everything to his Bog. In this manga, we get to see Ichijou before he worked for Teiai, when he was bright-eyed and taking his first steps into life as an adult with his best friend Murakami, who goes on to be his assistant at the Teiai casino. I saw so much of myself, and my own past life experiences while reading this manga, as well as a lot of similarities to how things are for me now. You really think the world's gonna be yours when you first enter independence, that nothing is beyond you and that you're going to succeed, absolutely, no matter what. And then, you realise, so much time has passed and you've done nothing but take it easy, and that your plans are barely progressed. You've sunk into the bog of life and allowed yourself to become complacent and to be satisfied with simple pleasure. Ichijou falls into ways of thinking that are so very similar to mine, it almost feels too personal to share that. Beyond just Ichijou is Murakami & the friendship they share. It's beautiful, Murakami has an intimate knowledge of Ichijou, his thought process and how he reacts to things, they do so much together, they have this level of silent trust I think everybody really desires from a friendship. Their interactions are all coloured by the youthful curiosity and process of discovery of thise who have just found independence. I can't go much further without baring my own heart too much. A new favourite, absolutely. HAGIWARA GREATNESS. |
| 06/10/24 | Manga | Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues | Tensei Hagiwara | 10 | Unfortunately the parts the anime covers aren't adapted, so I only got to read what the anime didn't cover. But still, the comedy is top-tier even in manga form. It's really crazy how Hagiwara can introduce all these modern elements without making it feel jarring whatsoever, it's easy to forget that Kaiji's set in the 90's, something that the latest part places a lot of its stakes on. I felt a hole suddenly appear in my heart as soon as I had finished. The anime ended off on a happy beat, the team was all together and celebrating. Unfortunately, we know things don't go so well for Tonegawa after he faces off with Kaiji, and the end of the manga lets us know what each member of the team went on to do afterwards, and the lesson that their time with Tonegawa taught them. It's really touching, I was so, deeply happy seeing these characters I've grown to love find happiness, and I was a little empty to realise that I'd never see them again, just like how they'd likely never see Tonegawa again. I'm tearing up a little writing this. You start Middle Management Blues seeing a bunch of faceless black suits, like in any other Fukumoto story, and by the end, you know all of them very intimately and carry such a deep love for them. Hagiwara greatness. |
| 03/10/24 | Manga | The New Legend of the Strongest, Kurosawa! | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 8 | This manga doesn't really have a right to exist after the PHENOMENAL ending of the original Kurosawa. It had to fight an uphill battle from the start, but surprisingly Shin Kurosawa is pretty damn good. It's harsh that his actions in the first part have faded in the hearts of those he inspired. Kurosawa figures that there's not really any place left for him, and decides to leave the hospital, quickly integrating with a group of homeless people. Kurosawa's group is great, there's a ton of fun characters, and they're all very much the lifeblood of the manga. Kurosawa here is more mellowed out, still deeply impulsive and still sometimes angry when he's confronted, but he seems to have found more peace. Perhaps its because he's finally found a place where he's on equal footing with everybody else, where co-operations and non-judgment is the way of survival. Kurosawa's effectively escaped modern society in the way he used to live it. I don't know whether I like or dislike that it isn't very similar to the original. You get a few fantastic moments with characters like Kojiemon that are right out of the original, but there's a whole lot of simple homeless life too. Ah well. I hope this wraps up excellently. |
| 02/10/24 | Manga | HERO: Akagi no Ishi wo Tsugu Otoko | Maeda & Fukumoto | 8 | I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this since I don't really believe that Ten needs a sequel, but I did end up enjoying it a lot. There's a ton of excellent matches throughout, especially in the latter half. I do think that it's a little too 'anime' though, every character kinda has a 'special move' or a gimmick and have that be their entire deal. Sometimes it's cool when you get to find out how they're doing these things but a lot of the time I wish it was a little more grounded. Hiroyuki feels far from third-rate here, I'm not going to take this manga into account with my thoughts towards him, the best character in Ten, he's a little too exceptional and I think him vehemently pursuing the path of a mahjong pro is a little... I dunno, I don't think it's really what Akagi was saying to him. But at least he's happy. |
| 23/09/24 | Anime | Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture | Sunrise | 6 | Not anywhere near as good as the original series, and I think its just kinda lazy to have Britannians except they're 10x racist this time subjugate Japan again after the original series. Weak cast, weak story, I don't give a shit about Roze as their design and voice sucks for the most part and when they're not in disguise, she is aggressively sexualised. The mech action is still good, and its what kept me chugging along. |
| 23/09/24 | Manga | Gengaku Shijuu Soudan (reread) | Yoshiharu Mishima | 10 | I felt like reading this again so soon on a whim. I appreciate it a whole lot more now, there was a lot of flowing undercurrents I missed on my first read, and I've come to doubt the Professor a lot more. As before, the sense of continuity is really awesome. I hope this continues to get healthy translations. I'm looking forward to Mishima's next work. |
| 18/09/24 | Manga | Washizu: Enma no Touhai | Fukumoto & Hara | 7 | Fucking stupid manga, so over-the-top in the way it depicts Washizu - like he's a literal force of nature, but that's what makes this such a fun read. Not fully translated so I've only read about 17 chapters, but I'll definitely read more if it continues to get scanlated. I don't really have too much to say, but it was fun and made me laugh. |
| 17/09/24 | Manga | Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji: 24-oku Dasshutsu-hen | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 9 | Finally caught up with all of Kaiji. This is a big change from prior arcs, no real 'gambles', Fukumoto instead pivoting his classic style of drama into an extended escape. I think it works well, and it's honestly really refreshing. It gives Kaiji a whole other level of depth as a character, seeing him in situations where he's not constantly shitting himself trying to avoid horrific punishment. Of course, he's still trying to avoid horrific punishment, and he often is shitting himself here, but there's a lot more slice-of-life and comedic elements present here. It kinda feels like Fukumoto saw the Hagiwara mangas and thought he'd take a crack at it. Seriously an excess of hilarious moments. Endo being the main antagonistic force in this part is also quite refreshing, and he's also given a whole other level of depth, which I think will make Part 2 even better on a reread. I'm excited to see where this part goes, it's most likely going to be the final Kaiji instalment so I hope it continues to be great and I hope that it ends in an awesome way. I'm gonna feel a little empty when Kaiji ends, the series has a long legacy and is one of Fukumoto's crowning achivements as a mangaka. I'm glad that it continues still in this modern day, 28 years later. |
| 12/09/24 | Manga | Gambling Emperor Legend Zero | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 8 | This felt like reading Diet Kaiji. I guess it's novel to see another death game manga premise from Fukumoto. This one is more about math than gambling, and I've never been so great at maths so some parts were a little hard to follow, but it never got in the way of my enjoyment. There's some really awesome death games in this, tons of variety in a modest 70 chapters, and I'm a big fan of the theme park setting. Zero, unfortunately, isn't that interesting of a protagonist. He's a super genius so there's not really that much struggle save for a couple of games, it's less compelling writing a prodigy who can win by immediate tangible material logic (math), than it is with someone like Akagi, who's a prodigy and you know will come out on top, but you're constantly at a loss on how he'll achieve it. A solid read. |
| 11/09/24 | Manga | Terumina | Kashmir | 7 | Nice art and a very dreamy atmosphere, vaguely gave me the feeling I got when reading certain Panpanya stories, but not at the same level. It's hard to say anything really, given there's only like 6 chapters translated. I think the lore you get about the trains, and these forgotten districts of old Tokyo at the end of every chapter is a very nice detail, and I had fun reading them. |
| 10/09/24 | Manga | The Legend of the Strongest, Kurosawa! | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 10 | Fukumoto outdoes himself again. I love these troubled, lost, downtrodden protagonists, Kurosawa may be the best of them. One man's struggle to achieve what every person wants - the love & self-respect of their peers, and to have some semblance of direction in their life. The road is rocky, harsh, filled with fuck-ups and unforseen circumstances, but by fighting on through it all, Kurosawa manages to be a shining pillar of strength, one that inspires those around him, and one that has inspired me. It's always a battle of the heart, in no sense should we ever believe we’ve failed, because the only true failure is believing in that falsehood - that falsehood that stirs inaction, that shuts the door on our dreams, and that stops us from living, stops us from walking the path towards the life that we desire. Cried at the ending. A new favourite. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Buraiden Gai | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 9 | Whyyyyy must the best Fukumotooooo have to be cancelledddd before its tiiiime? Buraiden Gai is simply awesome right from minute one, the fiercely independent Gai standing alone, back to the wall with a swarm of cops blocking the exit, holy shit! The Human Insitute is a wonderful Kaiji-tier locale, Sawai is an imposing, sick, cruel antagonist - definitely up there with the likes of Washizu & Kazuya - it's a joy to see his 'rehabiliation'. Gai also ends up being one of my favourite Fukumoto protags in general, just behind Akagi & Kaiji, I love his view on the world and how his desire for independence is shown in his past. Brilliant manga for just 38 chapters. All Fukumoto enjoyers must read. |
| 05/09/24 | Anime | Riding Bean | Sonoda & AIC | 8 | More of what I really liked from Gunsmith Cats. I'm really attracted to how these Sonoda OVA's flow, the violence mixed in with these really animated & fun characters... it tickles just the right spot in my heart. I think prototype Rally is less interesting than the Gunsmith Cats Rally but she's still badass. Minnie May is sorely missing. The Bean Bandit is so insane as a character featwise that he ends up being just, so cool. I'm even more excited to read the Gunsmith Cats manga when I can. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Seizon: LifE | Fukumoto & Kawaguchi | 8 | Love crime-solving/detective stories, this one was a really fun read and felt exactly like a movie of this kind. Middle-aged protagonists are always super cool, especially parents, Takeda really hits the mark, I love how homely he looks. Super solid, super fun short read. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Rude 39 | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 7 | It's not that impressive in comparison to other shorter FKMT series like Ginyanma or Tenma but I had more fun reading this than those because this one focuses on pachinko. The Bog is one of my favourite Kaiji arcs, and even though what's featured here is absolutely nothing in comparison to that, it's nice seeing some pachinko struggles, and this definitely has its moments. I don't know what the need was to make Satomi 16 years old though, there's not really anything between her & Katagiri after the start. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Kuso Miso Technique | Junichi Yamakawa | 2 | Really crude gay sex that I couldn't get anything out of even as somebody that likes men since it quickly becomes crude pissing into the ass. It gets a point because there are some funny panels. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Kaiji Gaiden | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 5 | It's a long joke about Japanese kana, not that funny of one, and a really repetitive one too. Wish it was more of a serious alternative story I guess. |
| 05/09/24 | Manga | Shinjitsu no Otoko: Taian Kichinichi Shintarou | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 6 | I kinda like the spirit of this but with 4 chapters translated, there's not enough for me to really understand the goal of this. Don't really have a lot to say, but I did have fun reading what I did. |
| 04/09/24 | Manga | Gin to Kin | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 9 | I love the amount of variety here, swapping between scams, gambles, political manipulation, true life & death scenarios, in just 108 chapters, so much happens and it's all done excellently. The only real issue with this is that it just ends suddenly and doesn't wrap up or conclude anything because the magazine it ws publishing in became a hentai mag. It's a big shame Fukumoto didn't do something in the same vein afterwards! The incredibly variety in a relatively modest chapter count is really engaging, Kaiji sorta carries it forward but Kaiji's always involved in GAMBLES for several hundred chapters where as the GtK guys kinda just do whatever. I'm glad to have read, this would have been one of Fukumoto's overall best no doubt had the circumstances been different. |
| 04/09/24 | Anime | Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues | Hagiwara & MADHOUSE | 10 | I was skeptical of this before I watched it, I didn't know how they could do a 24 episode spinoff about Tonegawa. In the end, this is one of the funniest things I've ever watched, it's perfect in twisting Fukumoto's style of suspenseful drama into one that'll make you laugh your ass off. The amount of great moments here is countless, there's just, so, so, so much to love. I'm kinda in awe. Thank you, Hagiwara, I will be reading all your stuff when the time comes. |
| 03/09/24 | Manga | Tasogare ni Maniaeba: Akai Sashimi Sakuhinshuu | Sashimi Akai | 7 | Super short chapters, simple gags, I like Akai's art a whole lot and I'd like to read their other works, but I don't have a ton to say given the majority of the chapters are only 2 pages. I'm not that huge on them making the non-humans odd shapes, it's not that interesting, but I recognise it's a compleeeeeete nitpick. Not a lot wrong here at all, just not A LOT in general. |
| 03/09/24 | Manga | FERNANDES PIXY SHOP | Kenji Tsurubuchi | 5 | I wasn't expecting this to be centered around the mutilation of faries, I guess it's kinda going for a fantasy pet shop thing maybe? It has good art, and maybe I'd appreciate this as worldbuilding in a larger dark fantasy setting, but as a one-shot, it kinda just makes you feel rotten and not much else, watching this fairy be harmed in really terrible ways to be fit for purpose as a servant. |
| 03/09/24 | Manga | Ginyanma: Janki-tachi no Densetsu | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 6 | A lot like Tenma, it's just mahjong gameplay. Ginji's pretty cool but he's just the typical stone-faced legend, not a lot to grab onto unfortunately. The two one-shots included in this are good but, yet again, just mahjong gameplay. The one about the cancer patient was pretty cool, the other one was a little forgettable. |
| 02/09/24 | Manga | Atsuize, Tenma! | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 6 | It's okay, it's pretty much just all mahjong gameplay without much else, Tenma ends up doing good deeds but he's not as much of a character as Pen-chan or most other FKMT protagonists, so there's not much to really grab me here. It's a little silly. At least it's short. | 02/09/24 | Manga | Atsuize, Pen-chan! | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 8 | This is the loveable mahjong idiot thing I was kinda expecting at the start of Ten, before Ten proves himself to actually be pretty compotent as that series runs on. Pen-chan's a total moron, a complete idiot, but that's what makes him so brilliant, and what draws his allies and the reader to him. Typical top-class mahjong you expect from Fukumoto, and plenty of lessons on why you oughta live your life more freely, detaching oneself from the stupid shit that weighs you down. |
| 02/09/24 | Anime | Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (rewatch) | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | Still fantastic, still hilarious. I think SHAFT should have been more restrained in their usual... 'SHAFTness', most of the season is character intros and I think going so hard on Kaere's pantyshot gag and not being particularly covert about it would turn some people off, as well as shit like the eyecatches with Kiri & Chie. First season would be a 10 probably if they could have been, it's kinda nice how different the start of this series feels to how it later becomes, and it sorta starts coming out near the end of the season. Zoku definitely elevates the formula even further and I'm excited to rewatch that. Zetsubou Sensei is such a special thing to me. I love you, Kumeta. |
| 02/09/24 | Manga | Bernard-jou Iwaku | Yuuki Shikawa | 10 | I'm in love with the sense of earnest honesty within this manga, and I can find myself hooked by, endeared with, and relating to Sawako's admiration for these books & authors without having what it takes to get through most of them. Sawako & Kanbayashi have a kinda beautiful friendship, I really like their conversations, and seeing Kanbayashi's long-winded explanation of various things to do with her sci-fi novels. I think Sawako's odd nature engages her in just the right way. Sumika & Endou aren't half bad either, but I think Sawako & Kanbayashi definitely steal the show. Sawako has a ton of actually interesting, intelligent things to say too, in her own way. Plenty of hilarious dialogue, dense chapters for only being 9 pages each. A new favourite, for sure. |
| 02/09/24 | Manga | Phantom Bullet | Rei Hiroe | 5 | It has some okay action, but there's nothing for me to really grasp onto here, its 4 chapters doesn't do the manga any favours, things just happen and then they end. None of that Black Lagoon grit. Didn't really care that much. |
| 02/09/24 | Manga | Gengaku Shijuu Soudan | Yoshiharu Mishima | 10 | Gives me a similar feeling to Shimeji & the first Spectral Wizard, it's vague & foggy & abstract, permeating some kind of melancholy for the future. It foretells the end of the world, and the way of things continually gets worse and worse as things progress. I'm sorta enamored by its continuity, the way things keep trodding forward, it's almost like you kinda wouldn't expect a manga like this to have such strong continuity. Sometimes something horrible happens and it simply continues, without forgetting. I'm really excited to read further. Mishima's excellent art has continued to mature since Kodama Maria, and I think the more out there manner of speech finds a better home here. |
| 01/09/24 | Manga | Call of the Night | Kotoyama | 9 | I loved reading this, such a deeply interesting spin on a vampire story, being a romance, as well as coming-of-age. It can be very powerful when it matters, it got tears out of me several times especially in the last stretch. Kou's a very endearing lead even if he's not got many flaws. So, so many fun characters. I'll be thinking about it for a while, I'm sure. I wish it could take just one step back from the 'lewdness' though, I think it often does have its place, definitely at the start, but many times I just wish the manga was more restrained, since it does get in the way of & distract from what's actually great about Call of the Night. Sure, for Nazuna, but its really fucking distracting when it's Anko or other characters. |
| 31/08/24 | Anime | Gunsmith Cats | Sonoda & OLM | 9 | I had a ton of fun watching this, it's exactly the type of pulpy action that I really enjoy. Rally & May are great leads, very cool, charming, and both badass and full of levity. Awesome action & comedy, was totally gripped. I'm super excited to read the manga soon. |
| 30/08/24 | Anime | Symphogear G: Non-Songs of the Valkyries | Satelight | 8 | Two 13 minute omakes. Super funny, made me laugh a lot, and has some good world & character building within too. I have no idea why the cover for this is a swimsuit shot on logging sites. |
| 30/08/24 | Anime | Symphogear G | Satelight | 8 | A definite improvement on the first season, more focused on the Gear users, their battles, and their drama. Enjoys the usual second season trait of being all killer, no filler, not having to set-up all these different concepts. Super fun. Antagonists here are a lot better than in the first season too, with cooler abilities. I hope this show continues to get better and better. |
| 30/08/24 | Manga | Ikenai Kacchan Love Story | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 4 | Didn't expect this sort of sex comedy from Fukumoto, and it doesn't end up being that good. You can definitely understand why most of his stories concern adults, as the high school cast of this do not feel like high schoolers, with open drinking & smoking and whatnot, but even if this wasn't about high schoolers, it still wouldn't be so good. |
| 27/08/24 | Manga | Yoroshiku! Junjou Daishou | Nobuyuki Fukumoto | 7 | Surprisingly manages to carry the feel-good spirit I've felt many times throughout many of Fukumoto's work, despite the terrible scan quality and despite it being his first work, and quite a short one. Made me smile, made me cheer, made me sad, made me laugh. Just what I expect from FKMT. Good stuff. |
| 26/08/24 | Anime | Mazinkaiser vs. Great General of Darkness | Nagai & Brain's Base | 6 | As Mazinkaiser is heavily derivative of Mazinger Z, this is derivative of Great Mazinger by bringing back the (shitty, useless, pointless) Mazinger army and the GGoD. Just that instead of the (shitty, useless, pointless) Great Mazinger, they have the (marginally less shitty) Mazinkaiser. Wow. Who gives a shit. |
| 26/08/24 | Anime | Mazinkaiser | Nagai & Brain's Base | 6 | It's pretty much just the original Mazinger Z except they replaced Z with a robot that's marginally better. Tries to the introduce the 'the robot is killing the pilot!' shit but forgets about it quickly. The Mechanical Monsters are still really boring antagonists, Baron Ashura & Dr Hell still don't have a lot going for them. Watching for the kino Boss Borot scenes. |
| 25/08/24 | Manga | God Mazinger | Go Nagai | 7 | Ths one was a lot more enjoyable to read, the God Mazinger actually does feel quite unstoppable and the series is better when it doesnt need to shoe in the other shitty robots. The writing's still kinda off, pacing is weird & the end point was... okay. Feels scattershot. What a grim ending too. |
| 24/08/24 | Manga | Great Mazinger | Go Nagai | 5 | Equally as dull as the original, with the Great Mazinger & new protagonists coming out of nowhere halfway in. Wow. For being the 'invincible' Mazinger, both Z and Great seem to get damaged an awful lot. What truly shitty robots. Still hoping for improvement in this series... |
| 24/08/24 | Manga | Mazinger Z | Go Nagai | 5 | Maybe a little spoiled after reading most of Ishikawa's Getter, I know Mazinger's kinda the first giant robot or something like that, but there's not really anything going on here. The Mazinger Z isn't very exciting & the enemy robots aren't either, and there's no real ongoing narrative or strong character writing to latch on to. Just boring. Hopefully gets better as the series goes on. |
| 23/08/24 | Manga | Getter Robo Go | Ken Ishikawa & Go Nagai | 9 | I wish I read this before Shin but we live with our mistakes. Getter continues to surprise me, Ichimonji and the new Getter team are great new leads, the conflicts shown here are mindblowing in art & scale, and this is where the series really DID take the pivot I mentioned in the Shin Getter Robo entry. The end of this entry is so fucking awesome, and very scary. The Shin Getter Robo is the coolest mech in anything I've experienced so far, hands down. |
| 22/08/24 | Manga | Kodama Maria Bungaku Shuusei | Yoshiharu Mishima | 9 | Maria & Fueda share a lot of gripping conversations, it's a lot of fun to watch them talk and really dive deep into language. I don't know where this could go in the future, hasn't had a translated chapter in a long time, but I hope it keeps releasing. |
| 21/08/24 | Manga | Shin Getter Robo | Ken Ishikawa & Go Nagai | 8 | Accidently read this too early, oops! Thank you AniList. This was a fantastic new direction, I was expecting this to be a continous monster-of-the-week series but I was really surprised while reading Shin. It's an incredibly powerful and interesting pivot to focus on the machine itself and its rising destructive capabilities tapping into an energy that's not sufficiently understood, the unfettered power of evolution & progress shown not to be infallibly good. Very good stuff. |
| 21/08/24 | Manga | Getter Robo G | Ken Ishikawa & Go Nagai | 7 | More of what was good about the first series. I think the demons make for less interesting antagonists than the dinosaurs, but there's plenty of great moments and a tighter pacing, probably because Getter-3's piloted by someone competent this time around. |
| 21/08/24 | Manga | Getter Robo | Ken Ishikawa & Go Nagai | 7 | Fun read, art looks great for coming out in '75, Nagai's style is awesome. Nice, long chapters, doesn't overstay its welcome at all and does packs plenty of fun although simplistic fights in its runtime. Fuck dinosaurs. |
| 17/08/24 | TV | Smiling Friends Season 2 (rewatch) | Zach Hadel & MIchael Cusack | 9 | More of the same goodness. I'm not sure whether I prefer Season 1 or 2. Excited for season 3 in 2028. |
| 17/08/24 | TV | Smiling Friends Season 1 (rewatch) | Zach Hadel & MIchael Cusack | 9 | I forgot to log this the first time (doh), Smiling Friends is still hilarious on a rewatch and a gift that keeps on giving if you were a Newgrounds kid. I'm glad Zach and his buddies can do something like this. |
| 16/08/24 | Anime | Katte ni Kaizou OVA (rewatch) | Kumeta & SHAFT | 8 | STILL do not like the first few episodes that adapt the earlier parts of the manga. I liked the later episodes even more this time I think. We love this OVA as a demonstration of the growth exhibited by Kumeta at this stage of his career. And we love the opening song. |
| 11/08/24 | Anime | Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 | TMS | 8 | I didn't expect the enjoy the first part as much as I did, but it kept my interest throughout and often had me laughing my ass off. Lupin as a concept is just so very fun. I think the first half of the part is stronger than the later half and has more unique scenarios, but its all good. I'm locked in for Part 2. |
| 11/08/24 | Anime | Symphogear | Satelight | 7 | Fun, unconventional mahou shoujo. The singing reminds me of Revue Starlight. It's good throughout but suffers from feeling a little generic. Noise are really, really not interesting enemies, and the human antagonists too are kinda middle-of-the line. Will watch further seasons. |
| 07/08/24 | Manga | Shibuya Near Family | Kouji Kumeta | 9 | I was unsure on this one at first, but I've grown to really love it. Keeps Kakushigoto's short chapters, but instead of long, continuous story stretches, each chapter is its own thing much like SZS. It starts with 5 pages per chapter which wasn't enough to realise a lot of those jokes, but thankfully it's up to 9 pages a chapter currently, and it works great. Excited to keep up with this. |
| 04/08/24 | Game | Psychopomp | Fading Club | 6 | Cool visually but there's nothing to it gameplay-wise. Not even an interesting use of the look/touch/talk/kill buttons. It's a little bit of a shame. I think when you're doing a Silent Hill type thing you need the real world grounding too which this doesn't really have. |
| 03/08/24 | Movie | Paris, Texas (rewatch) | Wim Wenders | 10 | Very hard to put this movie into words, moreso the second time. I loved it a lot. The cinematopgrahy is still mindblowing. The parallels to No More Heroes are DISTRACTING so fuck you Suda51. |
| 26/07/24 | Anime | Lupin the IIIrd: Goemon's Blood Spray | TAF | 8 | Awesome action, and very fun. I'm looking forward to diving headfirst into the Lupin series proper soon. Goemon is super cool, I liked him the most in what else I've seen so this was awesome. Unfortunately, the translation on this was a little dogshit, but still worthwhile. Fujiko hitting the bong holy shit |
| 19/07/24 | Manga | Goodbye, Eri (reread) | Tatsuki Fujimoto | 10 | One of the best one-shots ever, gets me crying at various points, incredibly powerful & incredibly funny. Masterclass. |
| 15/07/24 | Anime | Happy World! | KSS | 3 | Completely boring and pointless with no likeable characters, but at least its only 3 episodes. I liked the spirit in the final episode but it was still bland as hell. |
| 10/07/24 | Game | Dead Rising | CAPCOM | 9 | Hadn't played this since around 2008, and played a lot more of the sequel back in the day, but holy shit, this was fantastic. I love the simplicity the absence of combo weapons creates. Survivor AI wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. |
| 04/07/24 | Manga | Kume Short | Kouji Kumeta | 7 | There's one really good joke but largely doesn't have a central point or purpose like Kumeta's previous oneshots, so it ends up feeling a little aimless. |
| 03/07/24 | Manga | Kakushigoto | Kouji Kumeta | 10 | Who knew Kumeta had it in him to make something so truly touching? A mangaka of his age and experience, it's fantastic getting to read a story fictionalising his experience in and stance on the industry, still managing to be gutbustingly funny. Cried at the end. Be kinder to yourself, Kumeta. |
| 30/06/24 | Manga | Studio Pulp | Kouji Kumeta | 9 | This is the Kumeta I fell in love with. Incredibly funny, it's so very nice seeing all these characters again, and the actor angle keeps them feeling fresh. I need the rest of this. |
| 30/06/24 | Manga | The Impatient Count and the Time Thief | Kouji Kumeta | 7 | Even taking cues from SZS, the sex jokes don't work. It can be funny but the base premise is overly complex and stupid and the cast is too small, which hurts it a lot. |
| 29/06/24 | Anime | Katte ni Kaizou OVA | Kumeta & SHAFT | 8 | The first two episodes still suck when animated, but the later segments are awesome, especially in the last episode. It's cute that the artstyle of the OVA changes as Kumeta's did. |
| 28/06/24 | Manga | Katte ni Kaizou | Kouji Kumeta | 6 | Kumeta is at his worst when he's mostly writing sex jokes, which is the bulk of the start of this. The ending is just as good as SZS's and makes me want to read the middle so much. Grahhhh. |
| 26/06/24 | Manga | Spectral Wizard: The Most Powerful Spell | Imitation Crystal | 9 | This one has it tough, following up on the first Spectral Wizard. It's great but I think Mozocry is better suited for more serialised and shorter-form stories. Give Misaki all of Spectra's pain multiplied by ten. |
| 26/06/24 | Manga | Spectral Wizard | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Dear God, give all of Spectra's pain to Misaki all at once. Taking it by itself, the ending of this is very somber, makes you want to keep walking forward in spite of whatever terrible issue that will surely destroy us eventually. |
| 26/06/24 | Manga | Kuroki Yodomi no Hedoro-san | Imitation Crystal | 10 | It's tough watching an existence of absolute kindness fail in the face of humanity's cruelness. In the end, it uplifts you and it does make you want to be more like Kraunessa. Ms. Rimon arc made me cry. |
| 24/06/24 | Manga | Beank & Rosa | Imitation Crystal | 8 | Maybe ends too soon. Ending was moving but it felt very abrupt. I feel bad for everybody. |
| 24/06/24 | Manga | The Tragically Sad Story ofHopelessness About Friendship | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Short but sweet and cuts deep. Some people are just not suitable to be friends with one another. That's fine. Just how it is. |
| 24/06/24 | Manga | The End of Goldfish Kingdom | Imitation Crystal | 10 | Tackling the cruelty of life & society through the eyes of a child and the adults in their life who struggle to find the correct way to show the goodness in life is genius. One of Mozocry's best. |
| 23/06/24 | Anime | Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo | Ishikawa & Brain's Base | 7 | Not done anything else Getter, but this was a fun watch so I'm interested to dive into it proper. Very old-fashioned in the way it approaches the dinosaur antagonists but I don't mind. |
| 22/06/24 | Manga | Girl meets Rock! | Kuwahali & Tetsuo Ideuchi | 7 | It's fun so far, and good at introducing the reader to awesome J-Rock bands. Art looks similar to Skip & Loafter which I like, and Chiriro looks like Mitsumi. I'll keep up with this. |
| 08/06/24 | Anime | Baki Hanma x Kengan Ashura | TMS Entertainment | 6 | I've not read either series. It was fun, but I could tell it didn't lean into the strengths of either, and it was cheaply animated. |
| 03/06/24 | Anime | Hidamari Sketch | Ume & SHAFT | 9 | Beautiful in visuals & audio, SHAFT did an above-and-beyond job of making such a simple CGDCT slice of life so impactful & long-lasting. Can't wait for the further seasons. |
| 25/05/24 | Anime | Cat Shit One | Motofumi Kobayashi | 8 | Why was an ONA about rabbits fighting camels during the Iranian Hostage Crisis such a fun watch? No clue, but I absolutely need to read the Cat Shit One manga now. |
| 23/05/24 | Manga | Toufuu (Fu)Kenbunroku | Kouji Kumeta | 8 | I like stories about memory and this was surprisingly touching when it mattered. Along with being funny when it mattered. Good one shot, Kumeta. |
| 23/05/24 | Manga | Contract Detective Nokori Kasuhiro | Kouji Kumeta | 8 | Kumeta should write a detective manga, this one was very funny for just being a one shot. |
| 22/05/24 | Manga | Joshiraku | Kouji Kumeta & Yasu | 7 | If SZS's biggest strength was its huge cast, Joshiraku's biggest weakness is its tiny cast of only 4 (5 but Mask is lame as fuck). There's just not enough in the girls to make anything remotely funny or interesting as anything SZS does. No Kumeta art is a bummer too. Still can get some laughs out of me though. |
| 20/05/24 | Manga | Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei | Kouji Kumeta | 10 | Kumeta's magnum opus. No large focus on time or place, Kumeta's greatest tool is the large cast that he can swap in and out at will to create whatever hilarious, scathing criticism of Japanese life and the world that he wants to. AND HOLY SHIT, WHAT AN ENDING! I've been obsessed ever since. |
| 11/05/24 | Anime | Kara no Kyoukai 3: ever cry, never life | Type MOON & ufotable | 5 | Garden of Snorers: I don't know how to write something interesting so I'm adding rape to the story (Nasu family technique) |
| 11/05/24 | Anime | Kara no Kyoukai 2: …and nothing heart. | Type MOON & ufotable | 5 | I don't have a lot to say here. What action there was was good, but it's far from exciting and Nasu's characters (especially male) are boring. |
| 07/05/24 | Manga | Frieren: Beyond Journey's End | MADHOUSE | 7 | 3 years later, it's still a shame that this becomes a typical adventure manga. MADHOUSE knocks it out of the park as usual on animation & choreography. I'm not that big on aloof depiction of elves, they should still have a sense of time. Frieren feels like she learned very little from her party's old age and deaths. |
| 05/05/24 | Manga | Iigakari Neesan | Kouji Kumeta | 6 | It's okay, this archetype was better covered by Umi in Katte ni Kaizou so it doesn't have a huge identity within Kumeta's catalogue. |
| 05/05/24 | Manga | It Doesn't Matter if We LoseEspecially if the Match Will Be Held Here | Kouji Kumeta | 7 | Surprisingly funny, some good football jokes here although Kumeta probably wouldn't have been able to keep it up for long beyond a one-shot. |
| 05/05/24 | Manga | Root Paradise | Kouji Kumeta | 3 | It's all sex jokes, and none of them are that funny. The art is ugly too, clearly it took a little bit of growing pains for Kumeta to really find his groove. |
| 04/05/24 | Anime | Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Nyankin no Kirisuto | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | It's a really funny original anime segment. SHAFT still had that SZS fire in them in 2012. It's a shame they never got to work on a fourth season. |
| 04/05/24 | Anime | Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Bangaichi | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | This is kind of bittersweet. You can tell that SHAFT really loved working on this show. The extended opening says as much. Thank you so much for this phenomenal adaptation. |
| 04/05/24 | Anime | Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | It's a shame that they dialed it back from Zoku, something that's even acknowledged in the anime itself, but it's still SZS so it's still constantly hilarious, and that's all that matters at the end of the day. |
| 01/05/24 | Manga | Bloom Into You | Nio Nakatani | 6 | It's nice when it counts, but I still can't ignore how uncomfortable Touko's actions towards Yuu made me. I need to stop myself from calling it sexual assault and coercion at times. It's not really ever acknowledged like that in the manga though. |
| 01/05/24 | Anime | Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | More SZS greatness, not long enough for me to say it's on Zoku's level. The changes to Kuusou Rumba using the talent of the Madoka Witch Den artists are very cool. SHAFT have a good track record of playing with the opening in their OVA'S. |
| 30/04/24 | Anime | Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei | Kumeta & SHAFT | 10 | Turning the SHAFT dial to 11, the experimental & avant-garde nature of this season's adaptation creates a comedy anime experience like no other. Always funny, always interesting, even when the joke is a deep cut. Kumeta is so blessed to have this tied to his career. |
| 28/04/24 | Manga | Ten: The Nice Guy's Path to Tenhou | Noboyuki Fukumoto | 10 | Shigeru Akagi really steals the show from Ten, which I'm fine with. This makes for an excellent 'closer' to Akagi, it's great to see how the man has grown. It's nice seeing a more simplistic FKMT manga too, it's far from a death game here. WHAT AN ENDING! |
| 27/04/24 | Anime | Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei | Kumeta & SHAFT | 9 | Extremely funny and making full use of SHAFT & Shinbou's trademark visual style to create a comedy anime that fires on every cylinder possible. Only complaint is that SHAFT can focus on the wrong areas. The panty shots were not part of the manga's identity! |
| 23/04/24 | Anime | Kara no Kyoukai 1: Thanatos | Type MOON & ufotable | 6 | It's okay. I liked the action scenes but it struggles to hold my interest or stay in my memory. Is Nasu overrated? |
| 22/04/24 | Manga | Akagi | Noboyuki Fukumoto | 10 | Excellent, nail-biting Fukumoto throughout, but the Washizu battle is something special. There may never be a clash in manga as epic as Akagi vs Washizu again. 20 YEARS. And ended so perfectly. B-R-A-V-O |