#Lucifer and the biscuit hammer episode 1

[overly-caffeinated-hedgehog]

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (anime)---Episode 1

I'm going to spoil everything. You have been warned.

I'm watching the sub, btw. In case anyone cares.

So I'm not going into this blind. I read the manga awhile back and more and less remember all the plot beats.

Basic synopsis: Yuuhi Amamiya meets a talking lizard and learns he'd been chosen as one of the twelve “Beast Knights” destined to help a princess save the Earth from an evil mage who wants to smash the planet with a giant hammer.

PLOT TWIST: The girl hosting the princess's spirit, Samidare Asahina, only wants to save the Earth so she can destroy it herself!

Yuuhi is totally on board with this.

Yuuhi is kind of an asshole.

Antisocial looser, get your shit together.

(I love him, he's just fun to pick on)

NGL, the first 2/3 of this episode is kinda meh. We mostly just follow Yuuhi throughout his day while he tries to get Noi (the talking lizard) to leave him alone.

(as an aside: I like Noi. Poor guys trying so hard to be noble and serious, and Yuuhi is having none of it.)

Yuuhi and Noi are attacked by a golem, creations of the mage. It's a weird, one-eyed, fish-like monster. Apparently it's called Gamelion, which I didn't know until looking it up.

Anyway, Yuuhi is pathetic and can't fight to save his life (literally) so Samidare jumps in and kills it.

Being the princess's vessel gives her super strength, so that's cool.

Our two leads talk, Samidare throws herself off the roof so Yuuhi will save her/prove his loyalty (like you do), she tells him her plan, and he's immediately “At your service, your Majesty!”

So there we go, the adventure is underway.

Eh, not much else to say. The art/animation is nice. Nothing mind-blowing, but good. Same for the OP. I do actually like the song. It's catchy.

Anyway, on to episode 2!

[ace-reviews]

WINTER 2024 ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS

I counted and there are 8.5 blonde ladies in either a lead or primary love interest role this season (8 if you count the one whose hair is sometimes black as half of one). Do what you will with this information. I only share it because it’s something that was ticking me off that I noticed.

Anyway, we’re trying out a new format this season: Instead of only recommending anime we’re not familiar with, we’re each picking one we are familiar with and one we went into completely blind.

ACE’S RECOMMENDATION #1: MR. VILLAIN’S DAY OFF

After the deluge of isekai that try to teach the importance of having a healthy work-life balance by having the lack of one kill off it’s main character in the first five minutes of the episode, it’s really nice to have something that teaches the same lesson by choosing to model what one looks like rather than killing anybody. It’s also got a lot of pandas in it, which is always nice.

ACE’S RECOMMENDATION #2: SENGOKU YOUKO

Satoshi Mizukami seemingly can’t catch a break with anime adaptations of his manga: Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer sucked and this one is being seriously overshadowed by all the other really good and/or long-looked-forward-to adaptations this season. (Planet With was an anime first so it escaped the curse.)

Anyway, please watch this and have your friends watch this and buy the Blu–Rays and have your friends buy the Blu-Rays so my dream of a (good!!!) Spirit Circle anime can someday come true.

---

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDATION #1: SOLO LEVELING

(for the sake of our more sensitive readers, actual screenshots of the anime cannot be shown at this time)

If you like Cheat System anime, and don’t mind “a bit” of graphic violence (read: so much. There’s just so much violence.) , give this a shot. It’s based on one of the Korean manhua that made the genre what it is today, and as far as I’m concerned, they’ve done a good job being faithful to their source so far - they didn’t even give them Japanese names, you guys.

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDATION #2: A SIGN OF AFFECTION

(adorable)

It’s cute, and disability rep is always a bonus. I like how they animated the sign language, which seems fairly realistic to me, someone who speaks no sign languages.

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FEN’S RECOMMENDATION #1: LOOKING UP TO MAGICAL GIRLS

This is a series I’ve been following since there were only five chapters out in the manga, so I would like to preface this recommendation by saying I’m the only one who’s actually right about it. I’m a veteran, a true soul who’s stuck with it for the past x years since it first released, and as such everything I say about it is valid and correct and anything people who aren’t as familiar with it says is complete horseshit pulled out of their ass. This is a factual statement.

Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete, which has been translated for the manga as “Looking up to Magical Girls” (correct) and by vile HIDIVE as “Gushing Over Magical Girls” (bad and wrong) is a trashy, over-indulgent yuri series for weird perverts that is good, actually, (genuinely), and if the adaptation manages to capture Onanaka Akihiko’s remarkably deft hand in weaving the series’ fetish gags with the story’s genuine moments of pathos and surprising character depth then the anime will also be good, actually.

Dude trust me.

FEN’S RECOMMENDATION #2: METALLIC ROUGE

This is an anime original series about super fighting robots on Mars doing a hitman shit on android rebels for the government and also yuri, maybe. ACAB includes Rouge Redstar, watch this show.

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BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS: DUNGEON MESHI AND ‘TIS TIME FOR “TORTURE,” PRINCESS

A recommendation to watch Dungeon Meshi is the most redundant thing on the planet this season, but even so you should still watch Dungeon Meshi. Also, Fen and I had a bit of a back-and-forth over who would recommend Torture Princess since it was something she was familiar with and something I had only heard of and I wasn’t going to recommend it because I thought she would and she apparently chose not to recommend it because she thought I was going to so take it as a recommendation both from someone who is and someone who isn’t familiar with Torture Princess to watch Torture Princess.

[battle-shonen-brackets]

Because what goes together better than battle shonen manga and tournaments?

FINALS:

Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Hunter x Hunter

3rd Place Fight: Dragon Ball vs JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Seminals:

Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Dragon Ball

Hunter x Hunter vs. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Quarterfinals Loser's Brawl

Quarterfinals:

Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Bleach

Naruto vs. Dragon Ball

Hunter x Hunter vs. Inuyasha

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure vs. One Piece

Round 1 Loser's Brawl (Final)

Round 2 Loser's Brawl

Previous Rounds:

Round 2:

Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Fist of the North Star

Bleach vs. Demon Slayer

Naruto vs. Blue Exorcist

Fairy Tail vs. Dragon Ball

Hunter x Hunter vs. Yu Yu Hakusho

Inuyasha vs. Jujutsu Kaisen

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure vs. Saint Seiya

Soul Eater vs. One Piece

Round 1 Loser's Brawl:

Bracket A: Lucifer & Biscuit Hammer, Black Clover, Sakamoto Days. Mashle, Burn the Witch, Shaman King, My Hero Academia, Medaka Box

Bracket B: Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Fire Force, Toriko, Samurai 8, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Seven Deadly Sins, World Trigger, Mahou Sensei Negima!

Previous Rounds:

Round 1:

Fullmetal Alchemist vs The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer

Black Clover vs Fist of the North Star

Bleach vs Sakamoto Days

Mashle vs Demon Slayer

Naruto vs Burn the Witch

Shaman King vs Blue Exorcist

My Hero Academia vs Fairy Tail

Medaka Box vs Dragon Ball

Hunter x Hunter vs Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan

Fire Force vs Yu Yu Hakusho

Inuyasha vs Toriko

Samurai 8 vs Jujutsu Kaisen

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure vs Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Saint Seiya vs Seven Deadly Sins

Soul Eater vs World Trigger

Mahou Sensei Negima! vs One Piece

Deliberate Omissions:

I have specifically excluded all sports manga and non-battle battle series (e.g. death note, promised neverland, food wars, etc). Comedy series have been included on the basis of whether their story follows the structure of a battle shonen - Gintama has been excluded, for example, as it is usually more focused on episodic comedy.

I have specifically chosen to both exclude Chainsaw Man and Attack on Titan as I feel their tone and narrative themes make them too different to the rest of the competitors to be a fair contest. (I considered the same for FMA but chose to leave that).

In addition, I refuse to include Rurouni Kenshin due to the actions of its mangaka. While there are other manga on this list with problematic creators there is an order of magnitude between them and what Nobuhiko Watsuki has done and I cannot in good conscience endorse his work.

If anything not covered in these is missing it's either because I forgot or just didn't give enough of a shit about it.

[animehouse-moe]

Sengoku Youko Episode 1: We Are Those Who Lament This Barbaric Age

I'm pretty sure I'd be fine with anything after the travesty of Lucifer an The Biscuit Hammer, but White Fox seems plenty committed to Sengoku Youko, delivering a comfortably enjoyable first episode! Of course, because it was so good, I've got plenty I want to chat about.

First of all, let me level my complaints. I hate it when series have blown out highlights for bright scenes. I think it's ugly and unless your point is to emphasize the heat or brightness of a scene that it accomplishes nothing but crushing the colors of the scene. Just look at these two examples. The left has those overblown highlights and the right doesn't. Obviously one of these is better than the other.

And really, that's the only severe complaint I have with the episode. I think some of the animation was a little lacking for its focus on action, but I wouldn't say it's ever bad. Just more so that there's not quite the amount of movement that you might hope to see out it.

Similarly, the boards for some of the action sequences aren't the greatest. In their atomized pieces it's plenty fine, but put together they can create an awkward to follow sequence like this one.

And that's about all I can muster as a complaint against the episode. It's great fun, it's got some great layouts, there's good lighting and drawings, and it really heightens the energy of the manga while doing a great job of maintaining a healthy relationship between the action and comedy.

I think one of the most enjoyable aspects of this debut episode though was the overall direction of it. It had an undeniably classic feel to the approach that emphasized a lot of camera movement alongside character acting to bring out the energy in it. You might argue that too much camera movement and rotation can become a cheap trick, and I'd say you're right, but at the same time when you're working with someone like Mizukami, sometimes those aspects end up meshing really well with the style. And I'd say this is one of those times.

It's fun and brings out the most in the more "stereotypical" aspects of the character's personalities. A grand rotation around Youko, for example, really helps with selling the self-purported grandeur of their statement to the bandits they're addressing.

But that's about all I have to say, really. The episode does what a first episode should: entice the viewer. It shows off the power system centering around Youko and Jinka, gives Shinsuke his character motivation, and even goes as far as creating the basis for the complicated situations and nature of Katawara (thanks to the cliff hanger).

It hits every base required for a good episode from a written standpoint, and comfortably supplements that with well polished and high energy work. It might not be a 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess, but it definitely gives viewers the confidence they need to believe that this will be a good watch.

So obviously, because of all of that I'm looking forward to seeing where end up going in the next episode!

[aotopmha]

This anime season was the first season in a while I followed several series and finished them.

My general thoughts:

Chainsaw Man Season 1 – Entertaining action/horror. Cast with strong base personalities, interesting focus on craftmanship of moments and letting moments sit.

Pop Team Epic Season 2 – Extremely entertaining comedy. The series continues its streak of understanding shitposting and what makes it fun.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 – Fantastic finale to a fantastic series. The highlight of this season was concluding all character arcs in a satisfying manner. I also think it's one of the rare cases where, when looking at the series as a whole, I don't have any points I view as bad.

Most of my favourites at least have either a streak of episodes or an arc I dislike or don't care for as much as other material, but Mob Psycho doesn't have any kind material like that to me.

I initially wasn't as emotionally invested, but I never once thought the series was bad. In fact, I think the series doesn't actually have a single episode I think that's just bad. Which is very impressive to me.

To Your Eternity Season 2 – This is the only series this season I fell behind on.

It's very similar to my experience with the new Berserk anime or as a more recent example, the Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer anime.

Production almost never gets in the way of me enjoying a story; the entire thing can be a slideshow if it has strong writing backing it, but the overall direction for season 2 of To Your Eternity made it so difficult to enjoy it.

The episodes don't let any quiet moments sit or action scenes play out properly and moving from scene to scene is stilted because the episodes just keep going in the same pace regardless of content and as a result of that, none of it is nuanced, when in comparison, if you look at the script, it clearly is supposed to be.

The series continues to explore some great ideas, so I'm planning to eventually watch it all (and if it is just that poorly made, at least catch up with the manga because in this case I can really tell the source is so much better than how any of the adaption makes it seem – I really feel like if there is one series that needs a remake in 10 years from now on, it's absolutely this one). 2/3rds or so of the first season were fantastic and ep 20 was a great finale for season 1, but season 2 has been really struggling for these 7 or so episodes I was able to watch before stopping.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

February 2024 + Top 5 anime of 2023

(Series: Yagate Kimi ni Naru | Artist: Nio Nakatani )

List of reviews:

Stellar Step 1

Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite 1

Stellar Step 2

So, on to my top 5 anime of 2023. I had a few rules to follow when choosing my picks: obviously, they had to have aired in 2023. I decided I wouldn't choose ongoing series that only aired partially in 2023, unless they finished before the end of January 2024. I decided to not choose any sequels or spin-offs either, despite some amazing ones having aired last year. I know that I am never a fan when a Best Of list includes sequels that I have to be already familiar with the series before I can watch it. Instead, I have put an appendix on twitter with my honourable mentions, best sequels/spin-offs, and favourite characters/ships/ops&eds/etc.

5. The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady - I was struggling with what anime to pick as my no. 5, but when I reflected on all the anime that I watched in 2023, I realised that so many anime I came out of thinking, "This series deserved better." A lot of shows deserved better animation (Yuri is my Job, Endo and Kobayashi, Tearmoon Empire, I'm in Love with the Villainess, etc.), some shows deserved better publicity and subtitles (The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons), and some shows deserved not to be delayed for half a year (The Misfit of Demon King Academy). But I came out of MagiRevo feeling so glad that the series got the adaptation that it deserved. The animation is gorgeous, the pacing and voice acting are perfect, and you get the sense that the people who worked on it cared about what they were making and were given the resources to make it good. I actually think it makes improvements over the source material, particularly pacing wise. It's the sort of adaptation that I wish more series would get.

4. Helck - I read the Helck manga around 2019, I think, and I fell in love with it. It felt like it was made to tailor to my tastes specifically with the setting, the characters, the story, the art style, and the humour all really appealing to me. But the thing that made it one of my favourite manga of all time was the focus on a platonic male/female relationship that never turns romantic. And the anime is a really good adaptation so far. It stumbles in parts (the animation could be better and taking 7 episodes to adapt Helck's backstory was a mistake and slowed down the pace too much), but I'm pleased with the anime overall. It's reminded me of how much I loved the manga. Given the mess that was the Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer adaptation, it's a relief that this adaptation has held itself together. While I am placing this series so highly, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it yet. The first season has only covered around half of the manga and there's been no news yet on a second season. While I hope that one does get announced, I feel viewers would be better off waiting for that announcement as the show is incomplete at this stage and ends on a cliff-hanger. If you're interested in the series, I'd recommend just reading the manga.

3. Skip and Loafer - I'm not usually much of a high school romcom fan, but I took a chance on Skip and Loafer due to it's appealing character designs and mesmerizing opening, and I'm really glad I did. It was such a delight to watch this show every week while it was airing. It never failed to lift my mood and I got really attached to the characters. I loved this show and I hope we get more of it down the line.

2. Soaring Sky Precure - I've been a Precure fan for a few years and have now seen 16 seasons. The series always brings me joy and relaxes me, and Soaring Sky is no different. I loved seeing the journey of Sora and her friends, and this has become of my favourite Precure series. The theme of heroism is explored extremely well, and it has a fantastic cast. I feel like it tries to break up a lot of the usual Precure formulae in small, refreshing ways, like having episodes where the Precure don't actually fight any enemies and transform for different reasons. I loved it, and I'd highly recommend it to Precure newcomers and veterans alike.

1. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - My first Gundam series and it was an amazing one. I was so invested in this show from start to finish. It had some incredible twists, and some fantastic characters. I loved watching it weekly and getting to see reactions of social media after the episodes aired. To top it all off, it had a perfectly satisfying ending. While I would have loved more of the show, I'm glad that it didn't drag out and I'm looking forward to rewatching it in the future.

[formulaorange]

What I'm Watching - Summer 2022

This season is definitely a mixed bag of highly anticipated sequels as well as hyped new series. I have high hopes for the season so let’s jump right into it.

Made in Abyss - Season 2 It's been 5 years since the initial release of Season 1 and man am I pumped to get more content out of this series. I know lots of other series airing this season look good but this one is definitely stealing the show before the season even airs. I'm really hoping this doesn't flop as a sequel and lives up to the first season.

Call of the Night This is a new series that has been pretty popular among the manga readers. The animations are unique and use a lot of fun colors. The first episode was great, I actually like that the conversations between the characters feel like natural Japanese and not Anime Japanese, if that makes sense. I think this could be a really neat series that I'm excited to keep up with.

Shadows House - Season 2 One of my favourite horror series I've seen, the concept and characters are unique and the story gets more and more interesting the further in you get. I'm really excited to see the continuation of this series.

Additional Big Name Sequels: Overlord season 4 Classroom of the Elite S2 Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon S4 Devil is a Part-Timer S2 Rent-a-Girlfriend S2 Orient Cour 2

New Series:

Lycoris Recoil I think this'll be the underdog of the season, lot of the art and the name is quite deceiving and this was lower down the list for releases. This is a sci-fi action series where "Lycoris" are high school girls who are law enforcers that are allowed to kill. The loud and quiet energy duo is one of my favourite personality combos and the overall feel of the show is off to a really great start.

The Girl From the Otherside - ONA This show looks absolutely stunning. I know the manga is super popular and with Studio WIT in charge of the animations I couldn't be more stoked to see the artwork. There's a lot to cover this season so the rest is below:

Uncle from Another World This series was pretty hyped up, I didn't really get it until I watched the first episode. It's been a lot of fun watching the uncle use his isekai powers for mundane things. I think it'll be interesting to see where it goes.

The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting I didn't recognize the name at first until I decided to check it out. I've heard lots of great things about this series and I'm stoked they're making an anime for it. Will definitely be watching this. My Stepmom's Daughter is My Ex A romcom series where the title pretty much says it all. Should be interesting, I don't think it's for everyone. I gave the first episode a go and just couldn't get behind it. Won't be watching this one.

When Will Ayumu Make his Move? The same creator as Teasing Master Takagi-San. This looks like a lot of fun and I really like the look of the characters for this series. Should be a solid romance/slice of life though the first episode didn't impress me, hoping it gets better. The Maid I Hired Recently is Mysterious This looks like an interesting slice of life. I'm a fan of the animation and the style. Will likely watch it through. Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer - Hoshi no Samidare This seems like it's all over the place and I have no idea what to expect. There's also one character that's literally just Frankenstein from Soul Eater. So I'll watch it and likely do a follow-up post I'll link to at this season's half-way point to recap a bit more what it's about. Vermeil in Gold This is an ecchi fantasy where the mc accidentally summons a high class succubus who accompanies him throughout his magical school life. Lowkey it's been a while since I've seen a fantasy ecchi series so I'll likely watch the whole show, the first episode was a lot of fun. Isekais: My Isekai Life Looks like a basic isekai. Struggled through episode 1. Won't be watching this one. Black Summoner Another basic one.. but this seems to focus on the team as well, not just the mc. I'll give it 3 episodes but I don't have high hopes. Parallel World Pharmacy Looks like a slightly more developed Isekai Pharmacist. I like the animation style and the concept looks more fleshed out. I'll also aim to complete this series but don't have high expectations. Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World There isn't a whole lot of info on this series as of right now, though should be pretty self-explanatory. I'll give it 6 episodes. OVA's: I'm Quitting Heroing - 2 Episode bonus content Kakegurui Twin - Looks to be a prequel to the series. Obey Me! - Season 2 Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy - 24 Episode series, a reboot of a series that initially aired in 1988. The style looks intense and definitely different from other series this season. My Hero Academia Season 5 OVA - 2 Episodes of a Baseball special Sasaki and Miyano OVA - A drafted story that was in a special edition of Vol 9 of the manga.

Continuing to Air from the Spring season:

Summer Time Render An insane supernatural mystery series that getsj more and more crazy each episodes. This series is currently a 9.5/10 for me and I'm stoked to continue it into the summer. Aoashi An A+ soccer anime that's amazingly realistic and focuses on the main characters hard work to catch up to others in a professional league. Easily one of my top sports anime I've seen and I always look forward to the new episode each week. A Couple of Cuckoos A parent trap type comedy romance. I really liked the concept at first but I'm not a huge fan of the hints that they could potentially add incest to the harem... cute so far but really hoping it doesn't go that direction.

[aspiring-holistic-otaku]

Ramble#9

My main focus here is on samurai manga…

top 5 samurai manga read this month:

#5. Kurozuka by Baku Yumemakura on story and Takashi Noguchi on art

This is a story that takes samurai, crosses it with vampires and kind of just illustrates how far those two can go, It’s based on real 2 life guys, maybe even considered legends in Japan with a bridge and statue dedicated to them and everything, Yoshitsune Minamoto and Saito Benkei

Basically, the story starts with them trying to escape some pursuers in the mountains and in doing so they end up unwittingly shacking up with a vampire, a lady vampire,,, and shit just gets crazy from there…

Don’t wanna get too into it cause 1 it’s number 5 and 2 tbh the story wasn’t all that outside the romanticism and dark sides of immortality, but what I can say is that the illustration over the eras that pass and how a dude with a sword, a samurai, changes over the millenia was pretty cool to see…

Pretty rad action, decent enough story wrapped up in just 40 chapters, kind of a mid cast but i loved the concept and its illustration..

For all you anime folks it does have a 12 episode anime but I can’t speak on that adaptation and its quality, differences etc. at all.

#4. Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi

Super popular in hella anime and manga circles, in a lot of top 10s n 5s and If you haven’t heard of it well don’t worry the world’s full of information you don't know so continue to enjoy the journey...

Anyways… Gintama… is a story… that unfortunately I can’t speak on too confidently as I haven’t finished but despite a valiant attempt to in one month while reading a bunch of other stuff, I got to 200sumthn out of 709… but yh…

Gintama is set in futuristic japan but still somehow having a shadow of the edo period mixed in, meant to give a new take on the real life events of japan’s borders opening, foreigners coming in and that essentially leading to the downfall of the samurai, except the foreigners here are literal aliens. The story follows a samurai that previously fought in the war to keep japan alien free who’s now a dead beat, sakata gintoki, a young aspiring samurai whose dad died and left him a dojo in a world where swords are banned, shimura shinpachi, and a pretty much orphaned humanoid teen alien named kagura, all just barely scraping by with doing a bunch of very odd jobs.

VERY HILARIOUS, and so far largely a gag manga but it flips the serious switch very well and what I really like about it is that unlike a lot of other samurai mcs and characters, these guys, especially the central mc of the trio, sakata gintoki, have zero ambition, but constantly stress and fight to the death with swords to rubber chickens to protect their simple way of life. This is exemplified by the words shinpachi’s dying father left him in the very first chapter “Even if there comes a time when you must throw away your sword, never throw away the sword you have resting in your soul.”

I know it builds into an amazing story where almost every character they ever interact with pitches in and I'm probably underselling like crazy but if you want something samurai but samurai like you've never seen, check it out, I hear it’s worth the time and so far that’s proving to be so over the top gags and all.

Anime peps the anime is complete with 201 episodes.

#3. Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami (mangaka of spirit circle, Lucifer and the biscuit hammer and more)

Technically not a samurai story, leaning more into fantasy but it's in that era and a ronin is in the main cast so bite me and my list ig…

Anyways this is an epic that somehow does an incredible extensive story in 100 chapters and it's not too surprising given the mangaka (seriously check out spirit circle, i’ll never stop talking about it, my favourite manga ever at just 46 chapters and Lucifer at the biscuit hammer which is pretty up there as well, which finally got an anime adaptation this year with 65 chapters).

The story follows a demon named Tama trying to bring peace to the world traveling the land with a human named Jinka who's trying to become a demon and hates humans, but because of his love for demons does whatever Tama tells him to. Further than the usual “what is strength?” question that you could say the way of the sword tends to boil down to, this story looks at the question of “what is a human?”, as the duo run into other humans and demons with their own perspectives and characteristics.

Unfortunately it’s pretty hard to sell it more without getting excited and blabbing it all but brilliant story (admittedly with a little bit of a choppy start), great cast and cast dynamic, dope action, average but fitting art, highly recommended.

Side note, this had one of the coolest, if not THE coolest dragon depictions and fights I've ever seen in manga.

#2. Ichigeki aka one hit kill by Jiro Matsumoto

This was honestly an unexpected banger, as in, my firm philosophy is that by definition the average manga is average so you gotta just be thankful for bangers when they come but even so, especially for how short it was I was blown away.

The basic premise is that some peasants are brought in from the countryside to get some quick training in the sword and used as a throwaway one time hit squad but after they survive and show some promise, they're trained more seriously and sent on increasingly important but increasingly dangerous missions.

What I really love is how this story really highlights the caste system of the time, sounds weird to say but a lot of samurai manga mainly focus on the samurai class and up which I think paints this picture that some people just chose to pick up swords and others didn't, when really for the most part a lot of that was predetermined by birth. There were organized schools that only accepted certain families and it was only in extreme off chance cases that a peasant could even get their hands on a sword much less get formal training.

But yh, story and pacing was great and would even call it phenomenal (especially relative to the length), brilliant cast and cast dynamic, really loved the way the peasants viewed themselves and were viewed by others over time as they became more established, great action and pretty dope art, absolute banger in only 49 chapters, highly recommend.

#1. Kozure Ookami aka Lone wolf and cub by Kazuo Koike on story and Goseki Kojima on art

This is a actually apparently a classic samurai epic and when I say epic I'm not using it loosely just to say it's good which it is, but when I say epic I mean to think along the lines of the Iliad or dante’s inferno.

The story follows a famed samurai, ogami itto, official executioner appointed by the shogun (really big fukn deal), framed, defamed and now turned assassin traveling the land on the path of revenge with his son daigoro.

Now if you're familiar with epics you'll know they're quite long and tbh when I started I was a bit confused like why is this dude out here carrying out assassinations with an infant? and is every chapter just gonna be him killing randoms? do I really need to know the name and history of EVERY prefecture like fr???? (really reminded me of that one chapter of the Iliad where they just listed everybody and their moms from athens)

A little bit of a slow start for me especially as the mc was just super stoic, the ideal samurai if you will but it's through that we see his character and what a true bushi/samurai is. Through any danger and challenge he sees his duty through to the end. Even the decision not to kill in the face of certain death. Wildly enough his kid is not a prop at all as watching his father over time he picks up his habits and has his own adventures.

The action isn't the smoothest but it perfectly captures that old samurai flick vibe, phenomenal aesthetic that becomes even more exceptional in the final few arcs and some of the greatest dialogue around the meaning of Bushido I've ever seen. A small example I'll give is in a duel he has with another fallen samurai, he’s asked what the right thing to do would be when caught in an ambush. Standing by his lord’s side and defending them or leaving his lord’s side to take the initiative in battle, both with equal chances of success.

It's 142 chapters but because almost every chapter, especially early on, is isolated and almost feels like a movie, it can be a bit of a rough read but definitely worth it. (actually started last year and read the second half this month).

hm: tenkaichi, elusive samurai, gantz:e, sengoku strays

top 5 samurai manga before this year

#5. Gamaran by Yousuke Nakamaru

I almost want to say hunter x hunter but for samurai but the only real similarity is the mc trying to find his dad + in this he's trying to kill him cause they basically pulled an itachi and killed his squad.

I love this manga but again number 5 so I'm not trying get too into it plus it's really for the most part a battle tourney, nothing against tourneys but fight fi*azP_Qzght fight gets a litlle tired over the years yk?

Now why this is top5 is that along with really great art I really loved the detail put into the choreography and technique of the fights, as in alot of times sword fights, if they're not basically pokemon battles can be bland despite the contextual meaning and weight of it all. Like it's hard to really differentiate one swordsman from another midfight because outside of their stances they all just look like they're swinging swords pretty much the same way and on occasion shouting random stuff, especially in manga, but maybe that’s just me idk… But gamaran takes the time to illustrate the characteristics of each style, strengths, weaknesses, body motions, etc, to really give almost every fight a real definitive feel

solid story despite what I said about tourneys, great art, pretty dope cast, amazing action and only 194 chapters

There’s also an ongoing sequel called Gamaran: Shura but that only has 25 chapters so far and hasn’t really gotten anywhere yet

4. Sidooh by Tsutomu Takahashi

This story follows two brothers whose mother dies in front of them as kids, leaving them with the last words "It is the fate of the weak to die", giving them an obsession with strength that leads them to claw their way up into the ranks of society

Really great pacing, great story and amazing aesthetic, an interesting art style that's a bit inky for lack of a better word but goes really well with sword strokes and stuff like that + some of the hardest drip I've ever seen on folks in that period and some of the meanest stare downs I’ve ever seen.

It's complete with 269 chapter but only 250 are translated to English, if you've been listening for awhile this is where I usually say fuck the french cause they usually have more manga chapters translated than others in general but hate is lame and all I need to do is step up and translate shit myself if I really want to yk so yh, sorry France, all my hate towards you will solely because of colonialism and especially what you've done to Haiti. fuck France and fuck imperialism

3. Vagabond by tajehiko inoue ( mangaka of slam dunk and real)

This is something I'm always hesitant to mention because it's so good but is almost certainly never going to be completed and there's so much other great works to see but this is a definitive work of art and it'd be criminal to leave it off the list.

This story is based on the life of miyamoto musashi, a legendary swordsman, legendary, as his feats for a self taught peasant are just incredible, in real life this eventually culminated in him founding his own sword school, the Niten ichi Ryu (roughly translated to two heavens as one) but the manga doesn't really get to that bit.

Probably by far the greatest art in this list, Inoue is a master of the craft, and the investigation of the way of the sword and what it means to be unrivaled under heaven via musashi's travels and encounters with other known legends like the yagyu and itto ryu is truly enlightening.

Brilliant characters and character dynamics, stunning art that can never be understated, brilliant dialogue, very engaging fights, just an all round brilliant manga…

Besides the fact that a chapter hasn't come out in about 7yrs… I cry… 327 chapters out and translated if you can handle it…

2. Shigurui aka death frenzy by Takayuki Yamaguchi

This was only 84 chapters but in case the name didn't give it away it gets pretty wild

The story revolves around the participants in the first fight of a deathmatch tournament, one being blind and limp while the other only has one arm. We're shown the events that led to them being chosen to fight and what they continue to swing their swords for in spite of their condition, and both having started out as students of the same sword school.

Lots of tragedy packed in here, lots of gore, very clean art, pretty dope fights, solid cast, and a brilliant story that really illustrates the sometimes unbecoming struggle that is being samurai.

1. Blade of the immortal by Hiroaki Samura

bro... just trust me on this one....

I Know this is about manga but 3 Anime movies I gotta mention are: sword of the stranger, Lupin the IIIrd: The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa and ninja scroll

listen in to hear my top 5 swordsmen

[tetrix-anime]

Hoshi no Samidare (Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer) - Episode 1 thumbnails from Muse Asia and Thailand YouTube channels.

[moistwithgender]

(Overdue) Media round-up (January 2019)

Feb’s almost over and I was gonna write about what I’ve processed when I realized I only posted about the anime I watched, I think? So this is a catch-up post for manga and games, before the end of this month in a few days. If you want to read the January anime round-up, it’s in my “curry watches anime” tag.

Games:

Puresabe’s 2019 New Year Rockman Hack (NES): Puresabe does one of these every year and they are always pretty hard! But I think the last few years have been much more balanced than their older projects. They are always just boss fights, but with complex patterns and sometimes multiple phases. Being just a boss fight (or two) means they are super short, but you will spend most of your time learning them. Also there are no checkpoints, so every death means you’re back to phase one. It’s very fun when it’s a good hack, and this was a good hack. I had a very rough start to the year and considered giving up, but went back and beat it, for good fortune in the new year. (Beaten 1/2/19)

The 2nd Super Robot Wars (NES): I decided 2019 would be the year I got into SRW, and so I started here, because the first game actually has no hard plot. I enjoyed it to a point, but the difficulty climbs to an absurd degree, and I wish I’d cut my losses and just youtubed it. The game allows you to save at any time during a turn, and resetting the console means it recycles the RNG and you can get different luck. This is...required. Most of the way into the game, I was having to reset twenty times in a row per unit action, just to make sure I could survive an enemy attack, or successfully hit an enemy. The funniest thing is that when I finally beat this, I almost immediately started up one of the later games, so clearly the kernel of value was visible to me through all that bullshit. (Beaten 1/13/19)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: World of Light (Switch): I had been chomping at the bit for what felt like forever just to play this mode of this game, and not only was it good, it surpassed my expectations multiple times. This mode has a lot of twists for something that mostly implies narrative, or otherwise ignores it. I’m the rare person who mostly plays Smash Bros solo because I have NO FRIENDS, and this was worth the price of admission for me. I don’t consider Smash Ultimate itself beaten yet because I haven’t beaten Classic Mode on 9.9 difficulty yet. I have finished with 9.8, like, four times. Please kill me. (Beaten 1/18/19)

PaRappa the Rapper (PSP): While taking care of my cat, I found an opportunity to actually use my PSP for the first time since...2008 or 09? When I bought it secondhand? Jesus. Anyway, it turns out that PaRappa actually has absurd input detection and an equally hard to parse system for what counts as “freestyling”, which ultimately results in a final stage where you’re...required to play notes that are completely unrelated to what it says to do on-screen? I still beat the game (in a single sitting, too. it’s short), but I was pretty frustrated. Greenblat’s aesthetic is iconic, and the songs are very fun to listen to (this game has maybe the only potty humor I actually enjoyed), but the game part is actually the problem. (Beaten 1/25/19)

Patapon (PSP): I played PaRappa spontaneously, but I’ve actually meant to play the Patapon series for quite a while. This is less a song-performing rhythm game and more of an action/strategy type of rhythm game where you consistently keep a beat to keep morale up. It’s pretty good, but missions can be 3-6 minutes of consecutively hitting four notes and then waiting four notes, and while that itself sounds doable, I am just terrible at rhythm and messed up a lot of good opportunities. The difficulty curve in this is high in the beginning, lowers over time, before hitting a huge spike and then being a cakewalk for the last four or so missions. There’s also a lot of grinding, which means this rhythm game came out to almost a 16 hour run. A bit tiring. Not sure when I’ll jump on Patapon 2, but I hope it’s easier to play, since my impetus for picking up the series was the intro FMV for the third game. (Beaten 1/30/19)

Games beaten in January: 5 Games beaten in 2019 thus far: 5

Manga:

Getter Robo Vol 2 (Finished): I didn’t feel like plowing through 51 episodes of the old 70s anime, so I decided to just read the much shorter, and somewhat unrelated manga. In the show, the heroes are what they are, heroes. Likable mains for kids to watch on Saturday mornings. In the manga, as per Go Nagai’s influence (and the main author, Ken Ishikawa, who I LOVE and who was Nagai’s assistant), the heroes are violent asshole moron sociopath terrorists who gradually become more unhinged as they are exposed to the very radiation that powers the machine they use to fight dinosaurs (though said gradual descent is more of a thing in the later manga/OVAs). Also, the villains are dinosaurs. Turns out they had the original ancient civilization and Getter Rays chased them into the Earth’s core and they want to planet back. That’s Getter Robo! It’s very good.

Getter Robo G Vol 1-3 (Finished): This is kind of more of the same as the first, and again, I didn’t want to watch the 39 episodes, I wanted the primer so I could play SRW. As I’ve approached the later games, it turns out they prefer to take influence from the shows, not the manga. Oops! Whatever. In this sequel, it turns out the Dinosaur Empire was a pawn or something to It Was Aliens, the Hyakki Empire, and it’s...more of the same. In both the GR and GR G mangas, I found the occasional chapter with wildly different art, and I figured that those were Ishikawa’s gorgeous art, and the majority was Nagai’s. But, I’m not sure, and I wonder if those were revised or extra chapters done years later. Idk. Anyway, they are both very fun reads, even if they serve more as primers of the lore.

Shin Getter Robo Vol 1-2 (Finished): HERE’s where things start to get really good, and surreal, and bleak. This manga is not adapting a tv series (though later OVAs would reference it. This manga is actually I think where a lot of the inspiration for Gurren Lagann came from, and if you like that series, you should read this to see the connection. I can’t really explain without spoiling either (though if in 2019 you don’t know what happens in Gurren, you are super lucky and need to go watch it all asap). NOTE, this takes place after the 7 volume Getter Robo Go manga, which has a show but I think is unrelated, but more importantly is probably the BEST Getter Robo series. I read that before knowing a thing about Getter and still loved it (though I think having context will really benefit it). GR Go is the biggest justification for getting into the series. If any friends of mine want to look into this series, I’ll actually help give them a guide. Interestingly, the most modern Getter series (of which the most recent was in 2004 (please come back)) all take reference from the darker mangas, not the old 70s show.

Mazinger Z Vol 1-5 (Finished): I think Go Nagai’s works are weird, melodramatic, gross, and just kinda badly drawn. They are great experiences, if you go in with a grain of salt and also avoid the *most* transgressive ones. Don’t google Iron Virgin Jun. Just. Don’t do it. Devilman is probably his best work, but Mazinger Z is another series with a much more famous long-running 70s cartoon (92 episodes!!!) and burned itself into the nostalgia of Japan. Whereas Devilman eventually becomes traumatizing, Mazinger Z is pretty laid back and goofy, while also being Nagai’s brand of The Most Dramatic Thing Ever. If you follow me, you might’ve seen me post pages in my manga tag. It’s a LOT. Though, actually, I don’t think this manga is all that great. It can be *really* funny, but I don’t even remember if the series actually ends. If you read one or two volumes and want to put it down, I think you’re safe to. You got most of the lore. The biggest events seem to take place in later series that I haven’t delved into yet.

UFO Robo Grendizer Vol 1 (Finished): I actually haven’t been able to find anywhere to read Great Mazinger, the sequel series, so I skipped to Grendizer, which is the second sequel. It’s pretty unrelated continuity-wise, so it’s easy to pick up. This is only one volume and yeah they really just want you to watch the 74 episode show, but I’m good. Still, this is a fun book, and Nagai throws in his batshit ideas. The main character is an alien prince whose tragic backstory is literally that the villain kidnapped his younger siblings and all the country’s children and just! Dropped them all from the sky to their death in the middle of the city! And they don’t censor it! GO NAGAI! I really need to read the autobio manga Gekiman because of what snippets I’ve seen, Nagai is actually a super mild-mannered dude who doesn’t really get where his ideas cross lines. If you want to say “oh that’s just wacky Japan”, it’s really not, he was public enemy #1 with parents all over the country for a long time.

Super Robot Retsuden Vol 1 (Finished): This is a single volume crossover of Nagai super robot IPs including Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Great Mazinger, Grendizer, and Steel Jeeg (a guy who’s more Ultraman-adjacent than super robot), and there’s no real plot beyond “oh no new bad guy! buy the toys, kids!” It’s throwaway, and I mostly read it to see who Jeeg is without getting into his own series. Also, it was drawn by Ishikawa, so I felt a bit obligated. His art is just so pretty.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer Vol 1 (and maybe 2?): Satoshi Mizukami is a godly storyteller who uses the language of shonen to tell deeply mature and introspective stories for adults and if you follow my posts you might remember me gushing about Spirit Circle and Planet With. I actually haven’t touched this series since February started but I need to get back in because the first two volumes out of ten are amazing (warning, though: there’s a pet death and it’s real sudden and was hard for me to handle). Please read Mizukami’s works.

Manga volumes read in January: 14-15 Manga volumes read in 2019 thus far: 14-15

---

Okay that’s everything. I wrote a lot more than I expected to. If you read all that, thanks. If you are interested in any of the things I wrote about, great! If you decide to play through SRW2, don’t, stop, don’t do that. In a few days I’ll be writing about a much better SRW game.

[magicalgirlmel]

Anime dropped this year 19: Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer

1 episode watched

4/10

[nntheblog]

Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer EPisode 1 Review & Episode 2 Release Date ?

Lucifer, the Biscuit Hammer are two of the most anticipated anime adaptations. Unfortunately, the anime is not moving in the right direction. It's still too early to know! It's too early to tell! Lucifer, the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2, release date, countdown and everything else you need! Was the pilot episode of Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer a success? Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer Episode 1 Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyW33b14_GE The episode begins in Amamiya Yuuhi, a college student. He meets Sir Neu Crescent, a talking lizard knight who is sleeping in his bed. The lizard claims Yuuhi is a knight who was chosen to protect Princess Diana and save the world. Yuuhi, however, doesn't believe the lizard. He instead throws Yuuhi out of his bedroom and pretends to not have heard anything. Surprisingly, however, the lizard returns to his room to discuss things. Yuuhi was on his way to school when he fell from his bike because of the talking Lizard. He believes that he is hallucinating due to the stress of university. Yuuhi is the only one who can see that the lizard is speaking to him. Yuuhi meets his teacher, Asahina Hisame (a young genius), at school. Yuuhi is informed by her about his deadline for reporting, which he had been missing for some time. Yuuhi did not apologize for his report and instead told Hisame all about the encounter with the talking Lizard. Hisame advised Yuuhi, on the other hand, to see a psychiatrist or a neurologist about the lizard ghost. The talking lizard informs Yuuhi of his power during his break. He seems to be able create a holding area in which he can use Telekinesis to control any object within it. Yuuhi, to test his abilities, pervertedly whisked Hisame’s skirt, much too the dismay of the latter. The talking lizard attempts to convince Yuuhi, on his way back home, to accept his offer. Yuuhi is unable to join the fight to save the world. Not only does he lack trust in others but he also remembers the words of his grandfather about trust and betrayal. Asahina Samidare was Asahina's neighbor and saved Yuuhi from a confrontation with a golem creature. According to the lizard, Samidare is the Princess Yuuhi must protect as Lady Anima is asleep in her body. Yuuhi meets Samidare on the way back from work, and they become angry at Hisame. It turns out, Hisame has a younger sister named Samidare. Asahina Samidare saved Yuuhi from a confrontation with a golem creature. According to the lizard, Samidare is the princess Yuuhi should protect since Lady Anima is still sleeping in her body. Yuuhi, Samidare and Hisame meet on the way back. It turns out that Hisame's younger brother is Samidare. Yuuhi still refuses to fight in any event. The lizard informs Yuuhi about one wish he can make if he helps him. Yuuhi wants to go back to his boring, peaceful life. Yuuhi was on the roof with Samidare the next day. Everything changes when Samidare leaps from the roof on purpose. Yuuhi was able to quickly change his mind and save Samidare using his holding field. Before the episode ends, Samidare successfully recruits Yuuhi to be his knight. She got him to step out of his comfort zone and convinced him to trust her to save the world. Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2 Release date https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx8cUSTp8eA Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2 Release Date & time By Anime Zone Lucifer, and the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2, will be broadcast in the US and UK on July 15, 2022. Episode 2 in Japan will air at 1:55 EST on July 16, 2022. Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2 Release time Japan's Lucifer will broadcast Episode 2 of the Biscuit Hammer on July 16, 2022 at 1:55 EST. If the information is correct, the following release times apply to your area: - Pacific Time: 11.25 PT (July 15, 2022). - Central Time: 13:25 CT (July 15, 20,22). - Eastern Time: 14:25 EDT (July 15, 20,22). - British Time: 19:25 BST, July 15, 2022 Where can I watch and stream Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer Episode 2? English subtitles Lucifer, and the Biscuit Hammer Episode 2, will be streaming on Crunchyroll. English subtitles are available for international viewers. The second episode of the series will be also available on Muse Asia's YouTube channel, BiliBili Global Asia and BiliBili Global Asia. Read the full article

[aotopmha]

Watched the first three episodes of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer and I can finally voice what bothered me about the first story arc since I first read it about 10 years ago and it kind of took the story down from the pedestal I remember it being on.

Firstly, I think the biggest problem with specifically the adaption is the direction:

1) The comedic timing is odd.

2) Unique music is sparse, but more than that, usage is really unsubtle and not very well thought through.

3) The episodes don't really let scenes sit and just basically run through them.

These are all typical of lesser quality adaptions.

As a result, the serious topics the story handles like Yuuhi's relationship with his grandpa and the unhealthy elements of Yuuhi's and Semidare's relationship don't get the focus in the way I think they should.

I think particularly the scenes with Yuuhi and the chains his grandpa "put him in" needed much more subtlety, as they almost come off as comedically melodramatic with how the same theme pops up during them and they basically have the same timing as comedic scenes.

There is no subtlety in the sound design or direction and I think the manga at least manages that much when it comes to the serious elements of the story.

But an adaption is still just an adaption and here's my fundamental issue with Yuuhi's small character arc in the beginning of the story: despite the story acknowledging through him he doesn't have to forgive his grandpa, the narrative sort of still 'forces' him to do it and doesn't really acknowledge that.

Yuuhi isn't obligated to forgive his grandpa because his grandpa abused him for a 'good reason' (to protect him), his grandpa learned his lesson or his grandpa said sorry.

I think that's a really important nuance the story doesn't acknowledge or focus on as much as it should (basically not at all).

Victims of abuse can choose to forgive their abuser if this gives them peace, but they shouldn't be obligated because to put it really obviously: they were hurt by that person and that 100% falls on that person no matter the reason.

Trying to be as charitable as possible, you could read Yuuhi's response and his grandpa's apology in a variety of ways.

Taken in the most idealistic way, for example, his grandpa really does regret what he did and Yuuhi chooses to give him another chance in life because he was some point good to him and it was all driven by his grandpa's trauma too.

But regardless how many charitable interpretations I can give it, there is pretty much zero elaboration for Yuuhi's wish to save his grandpa after he made his wish.

And because of this, I think the story handled this topic in a very clumsy way.

I still like how Yuuhi's and Sami's relationship is messed up and imperfect from back when I first read it, but if the foundation is messy, that carries over to the rest of the story, doesn't help the adaption is robbing it from most of the subtleties, too.

I know I like the end result where Yuuhi and Sami end up on an idea level, but it could be that I missed even more elements of the story that undermine the big moments when I first read it.

As I said, a long while this was one of my favourite manga because of where the characters started and the feeling it conveyed at its ending, but this revisit exposed this element I find pretty fundamental for the story to work not really working at all, so the manga has bumped down my list quite a bit and honestly also robbed me of the wish to go back and revisit it in full or to continue watching the adaption, which is unfortunate.

[mokomodukedom]

Goal: Tag nine people you want to get to know better!

(got tagged by @imadeablogforchitchat​)

Relationship status: not really comfortable with personal questions like this, I prefer keeping my blogs about fandom stuff and random nonsense.

Favorite color: blue

Lipstick or Chapstick: Don’t wear lipstick and don’t know what the other one is... *google search* ah, the thing you use in winter when your lips shrivel up? Uh, yes I use that for a few short periods a year.

Last song I listened to: Vogel im Kafig (Attack on Titan music)

Last movie I watched: ”Richard the Stork”, a talking animals film for little kids (got invited and the ticket was free...)

Top three TV shows: 1. House of Five Leaves 2. Poirot (or any old-fashioned episodic detective show happens to be on at the time really. Miss Marple begins soon!) 3. The Count of Monte Cristo

Top three characters: 1. Masanosuke (House of Five Leaves) 2. Kotetsu(Tiger & Bunny) 3. Chocola (Sugar Sugar Rune)

Top three ships: 1. Takeru & Hikari (Digimon) 2. Abel & Lilith (Trinity Blood) 3. uhhh I seriously don’t have any ships I can think of at the moment...  this is so difficult... I dunno, Amira & Karluk (Otoyomegatari)? Yuuhi & Samidare (Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer)? Ahiru & Fakir (Princess Tutu)? I guess I like them together, but I don’t exactly actively ship them.

I still don’t follow enough OP blogs on tumblr so I don’t have 9 people to tag... But how about @sableu? And anyone who wants to do this.

[recentanimenews]

My Week in Manga: January 30-February 5, 2017

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga the winner of the Please Tell! Me Galko-chan manga giveaway was announced. The post also includes a fairly comprehensive list of the full-color manga and manhwa that have been released in print in English. (However, I just now realized that I neglected to include manga like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira and Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s Fist of the North Star which, while not originally illustrated in full-color, had some full-color editions released in English.) Otherwise it was fairly quiet week, but I am well on my way to completing an in-depth review for February. Happily, my goal to write at least one long-form feature every month so far seems achievable.

I wasn’t actually online much at all last week (things were pretty hectic at work and there are always a fair number of taiko and lion dance performances I’m involved in around Chinese New Year) but there were still a few things that caught my attention: Vic James wrote an essay for Tor.com about Yukio Mishima and Forbidden Colors–The One Book That Made Me Move to Japan. (Mishima fascinates me and was actually my introduction to Japanese literature; I’ve reviewed quite a few books by and about him.) The most recent issue of Words without Borders is devoted to international graphic novels. Also, Digital Manga’s Juné imprint announced two new print licenses (Psyche Delico’s Even a Dog Won’t Eat It and Choco Strawberry Vanilla) as well as its upcoming Kickstarter project to publish the first volume of Velvet Toucher’s Eden’s Mercy.

Quick Takes

Bloom into You, Volume 1 by Nakatani Nio. I’ll have to admit, recently I’ve grown a little weary of high school romances. Even so, I was still very interested in reading Bloom into You, one of Seven Seas most recent yuri series. Specifically, I was curious about the manga’s treatment of aromanticism, something which I haven’t seen many series address. Yuu has never fallen in love and so she is glad to meet Nanami, an upperclassmen who likewise has never felt that way about anyone before. Finally Yuu has someone she feels comfortable confiding in about it except that Nanami is now falling in love with her. One of the things that I really appreciate about Bloom into You is how considerate and respectful Nanami is of Yuu’s feelings (an exception being a stolen kiss). It’s also obvious that they both care about each other, even if Yuu hasn’t yet experienced the romantic spark that Nanami has only recently found for herself. The two of them actually communicate, too, so there’s none of the silly misunderstandings that plague so many other series that would easily be solved if the characters would simply talk to each other. I would definitely like so see how Yuu and Nanami’s relationship continues to develop from here.

Franken Fran, Omnibus 3-4 (equivalent to Volumes 5-8) by Katsuhisa Kigitsu. Despite what the cover illustrations would seem to imply, Franken Fran isn’t particularly heavy on fanservice. Granted, there is some nudity in the series, but it’s generally more discomfiting than it is titillating. Franken Fran is a manga that delights in making its readers uncomfortable. But although it is frequently gruesome and grotesque, the quirky horror is accompanied by a great deal of humor as well. Kigitsu uses actual medical and scientific phenomenon as inspiration but takes them to such logical and illogical extremes that they become almost unrecognizable. The horror in Franken Fran works as well as it does because there are these little kernels of truth underneath it all. For the most part Franken Fran tends to be episodic although the stories can largely be categorized by recurring types, settings, and characters. For example, there are numerous chapters based in Fran’s school as well as a set of quickly escalating stories about the supposedly superheroic Senitals. More characters are introduced as the series progresses, too, including Fran’s incredibly crass, vulgar, and homicidal older sister Gavril.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Omnibus 5 (equivalent to Volumes 9-10) by Satoshi Mizukami. It’s been quite a while since the last omnibus of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer was released. I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to finally get around to reading it though since there was so much about the series that I enjoyed. The ending of the series was pretty great. It was immensely satisfying to see the Beast Knights pull together for the final battle against Animus as a tightly knit team, surpassing everything that they’d previously accomplished. They are a group of troubled outsiders who have established a tremendous and lasting bond with one another despite, or maybe because of, their differences. As weird a manga as Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer can be–and it can be very weird (which is admittedly something that I like about the series)–it still manages to have a surprisingly deeply resonant core. If it wasn’t already clear, the conclusion of the series’ makes its theme explicit. Underneath the psychic powers and supernatural battles is a story about growing up regardless of how old someone actually is, about survival in the face of the worst that life can throw at somebody, and about forming meaningful connections with others.

By: Ash Brown