I wish Blade of the Immortal had a translation that didn’t have the panels rearranged to read from left to right. It’s at least not flipped, but the speech bubbles and flow of the panels just doesn’t completely work for me anymore.
5 Likes
oh woah. more dark horse weirdness. i took a look at some scans and thats off. i think i remember reading old old scans of the volumes where they are like, one issue of a floppy comic for a chapter, but I may be conflating with Ah My goddess.
2 Likes
Awesome, going to read these!
Will hold off on Fire Punch for now and will give it a try before buying.
This is what I needed to hear! Awesome, will keep at HxH.
I’ve been avoiding Silver Spoon because I’m a little nervous about how the animals are treated… I’m sure it’s not a manga about chickens and cows at a factory farm. How’s the treatment of animals in the series? The business of animal farming in a manga is something I’m concerned I won’t be ethically aligned with. Do y’all think a crusty vegan would still enjoy Silver Spoon?
4 Likes
Animals are killed. It’s treated in a way where Hachiken is a softie and has to come around to it, but he always does it his way, in terms of naming them even though you’re not supposed to etc. I would say there is one arc where the idea of animal slaughter is prominent, and then it fades to the background mostly.
It certainly is not the most vegan piece to be certain. That said, much of it is interpersonal drama, horses, and really fun characters. I’m sure there is something you could latch on to if that is interesting to you.
2 Likes
Also… check out love bullet it’s cool
2 Likes
Good rec! This looks dope.
2 Likes
the last chapter of the first volume is particularly quite lovely
1 Like
Just read Tokyo These Days v1 by Taiyo Matsumoto. Borrowed from the library. Cried twice during it. His work makes me so emotional, can’t exactly pinpoint why. It’s a manga series for manga lovers, that’s for sure. An older editor leaves his job after his magazine folds, which sets the story in motion. I love the art and pacing. It’s slower than shonen series, in a good way. An Adult Bakuman. Gonna definitely keep reading it and I’d recommend it to anyone who is even vaguely aware of the manga industry.
Viz is doing right by Matsumoto. These editions and Sunny’s and Tekkonkinkreet’s are what his work deserves. I hope they reprint Blue Spring in a similar edition.
I read Hellsing v1, which I got used in a bundle with 1-8. Hadn’t read it since I was a teen. The art is unique and impressive. First volume sets things up well. Fits the spooky season. I have a little concern about how the Nazi aspects are handled in the future, I can’t remember but am worried they may be glorified. Does anyone know? Best to brace myself if it’s gonna be a hot mess.
I read Burn the Witch—the one shot and four special chapters. Really disappointing. I disliked everything about it except the art is well done. Too rushed for how large the idea and concept is. No space for character development. Just a really bizarre follow up to Bleach. Was it just for the animation? Idk. If it had significantly more chapters and build up, it could be good, there’s potential and clearly ideas. But it’s a bit of a botched start. I saw there may be more of the series but that’s stale news and hmm don’t think I’d continue on tbh.
7 Likes
I can only recall details of Burn the Witch, to the tune of like, he tried to set up every single aspect of a big shounen thing for something he clearly wasn’t gonna work on very much. It’s ran through me.
Hellsing - I’ve similarly tried to revisit it, I think the Nazi stuff is kinda more akin to how he does the Catholic stuff where it’s like kind of an abstract nazism. I imagine it’s more about your mileage for guys tapping their fingers to the tune of ride of the valkyries.
Matsumoto owns my bones, I didn’t know this existed. He makes me cry too. It’s that thing where even just recalling “Blood tastes like iron” or something. Those number 5 printings they did a few years back are so nice.
2 Likes
i remember painfully reading that in portuguese, which used the english mirroring. by that year i was already able to read hiragana / katakana so the sfx were all messed up
4 Likes
https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/viewer/1022541
oh hey, theyre doing a bakuman for game dev
2 Likes
Kaiji is a series I have loved dearly for years and moved me emotionally, but back in the day, I hit a roadblock when I got to part 3 because it was about mahjong and I had no idea what was going on because you have to have a pretty good understanding of mahjong to follow it and with mahjong being a pretty complicated game, it was too much for me to try to learn on the fly. This year, I have finally gotten into mahjong IRL and it’s become one of my biggest hobbies. I am now able to read Kaiji part 3 and understand it fully and I think it’s fantastic. I will read and/or watch Akagi next now that I can understand and appreciate it.
4 Likes
After watching the movie on Netflix (which was great! Different, by switching the main character to Ryota, but great!) I started reading Slam Dunk again and it made me wonder – did Slam Dunk actually start the “trio” trope in shonen series with lighter haired loudmouth boy/dark haired serious boy/girl, as later seen in Naruto and many others following?
5 Likes
Kishimoto was a huge slam dunk guy so maybe (per his interviews in I think naruto vol 1)? i think the trope owes a lot to Goku and Vegeta though, also Yu Yu Hakusho is concurrent with Slam Dunk so I think probably some sort of mix of those guys.
2 Likes
I read the first two chapters of Hakutaku, and it’s a really interesting premise. Kinda curious to see where it goes. Maybe it’ll lead to more people making games like Haikyu!! led to more people playing volleyball. The first chapter was solid but the second chapter fell kind of flat for me. Unclear what the major plot motivation will be and how it will shape up… 
On the topic of new Jump series:
- Ichi the Witch - 4 chapters in and it’s… fine. I can’t stand the main character’s hair. I know that sounds petty, but it’s just driving me full bonkers to see those parts on the back. Story has a little bit of charm so far but hasn’t gone anywhere interesting since the first p strong chapter.
- Shinobi Undercover - 3 chapters in and I’m enjoying it quite a bit!! I might get sick of the main character’s shy personality, but right now it’s still feeling funny. I like the undercover shinobi guards premise. Unclear how long that can go on for and remain interesting.
Kaiji omnibus vol 1 is sitting right next to me! I just started it tonight. I absolutely love the art style, it’s refreshingly sharp. I’m a few chapters in and just about to board the cruise. Very excited to keep reading it.
I know nothing about mahjong though, I’ll have to do some learning and prep too.
I signed into the forum tonight just to post about Tower Dungeon and start the new monthly game club! 
All right, so Nihei is one of my favorite mangaka. Top 3 for sure. I love Blame!, Knights of Sidonia, Abara, Aposimz. His art is just top tier, and I think he’s a real cult favorite inspiring Q Hayashida and Tatsuki Fujimoto (among others). What Nihei nails is the cool factor of manga from the 90s. He’s got that baked into his DNA. And it’s something I sorely miss these days amongst the moe. Hayashida and Fujimoto both have that cool DNA in their work too.
I saw on the Kodansha blog they’re going to print Tower Dungeon in the US in Q2 2025. I didn’t want to wait, so I downloaded the K Manga app to read it (ugh, can’t stand the whole tickets and points systems it uses, just give me a subscription).
I read through the first 11 chapters of Tower Dungeon yesterday and today, and I honestly think it’s one of the best fantasy manga that no one’s reading. His art is amazing—from the armor to creature designs to the environment (as you pointed out). He’s really matured as a popular artist over the course of his career, and I’m very much here for his current style (while still appreciating the Blame! and Abara days). His use of black in Tower Dungeon works so well.
One of my favorite things about Nihei is that he’s got little references to his other work, stylistically or with names or logos. This guard looks like it could be plucked right out of Blame!
In the age of fantasy manga titled like I Can’t Believe I Just Woke Up and Turned Into a Level 10 Lesser Dragon Cursed to Roam This One Field for the Rest of My Life, it’s refreshing to see Nihei acknowledge that trend (as I think he’s probably trying to make a hit, it just seems like that’s what he’s going for) and bring his own take to it.
He’s got the plot going too in a nice way. Really intrigued to see where it goes and keep up with it. Very tempted to buy the Japanese print copies so I can flip through it. 
Something I noticed is how great his character designs are in Tower Dungeon. Really varied, cool, and top notch.
I’d like to think (hope) Tower Dungeon gets an anime adaptation. It’d be a good fit IMO. (Although I think Aposimz would be too.) Anyway, enough gushing about Tower Dungeon. Go read it if ya’ haven’t!!
brett’s manga updates
I’ve been holding a newborn and reading a lot of manga lately. It’s comforting and easy to pick up and been helping me get through the tough times (2 under 2 is tuff but the manga will get me through it 
).
chainsaw man part 1
I finished the first 11 volumes of Chainsaw Man. Golly, I don’t quite know what to think. It reads so quickly. It’s disturbingly readable. But it almost feels a bit shallow to me, a bit hollow. I see the Nihei and Q Hayashida and FLCL parts of it. I see the gore/action/humor. I enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. But it just feels a bit empty, like the heart is missing. Volumes 8-11 flew by so quick, I read them in one sitting over the course of an hour one evening. The pacing felt off, like it needed to be stretched out just a bit. The first half felt so much more balanced and slower in a good way. I’d like to re-read this all, and I will continue onto part 2, but I’m going to take a break for a bit. I can see why it’s a hit on one hand, but on the other I’m a bit confounded lol.
I’ve got Fujimoto’s single volume works to read next. I love his style, and I’m very interested to see what part 2 of Chainsaw is like and what he gets up to next.
hunter x hunter
I finished Heavens Arena and Yorknew City arc, and I’m a few chapters into Greed Island. I’ve completely fallen in love with HxH. Heavens Arena may seem a bit like generic battle arena, but it was great development for Gon and Killua, and it really does a great job explaining the Nen system, which seems crucial for the rest of the series.
Big fan of Zushi and hope he returns…
Yorknew City was the best arc so far. Kurapika… new fav character. Absolutely love them.
This outfit, I was shook when I turned to this page. Very much here for it. The balance between Kurapika and then Gon+Killua and then them all working together was fantastic.
The art has also been a lot more consistent since the first arc. I haven’t stopped on a page and noticed the bad art. I’m wondering if this is a good stretch I’m in with regards to Togashi’s health?
Greed Island… the game concept so far is quite intriguing. Super curious to see where it all goes.
I’ve got a HxH wallpaper on my phone and am just cruising through the series. It’s like comfort food. And I’ve noticed he trims a lot of the shonen trappings in favor of the interesting stuff. Very grateful for that.
not simple
Tragic literary-esque single volume story by Natsume Ono. Quite moving. Love her art style. Prob not for everyone but she wields it well. Got it used from eBay and really glad to have read it.
One Punch Man
I jumped back into OPM around chapter 50 after a many years break. I read each volume as it came out until I fell off, and it’s a bit like riding a bike. Hilarious. Enjoyable. Very readable. Curious to see how it’s running for so long though and how the story develops. Clearly there’s some larger stuff being set up.
Kagurabachi
Prob the next big Shonen Jump hit following JJK ending. Essentially: what if there were a limited number of really strong blades? And what if they fell into the wrong hands? And then what if there were some sorcerers too with magic abilities? That’s Kagurabachi!
Very cool art. Enjoying the characters. The plot’s solid too. A bit of a revenge story. A more mature shonen series but not quite senien. I’m at around chapter 25. Trying to get caught up. Digging it!
Frieren
Fizzled out around chapter 30. There’s just nothing driving me forward right now (even though I’m aware there’s party recruitment happening). I might just not be in the right mindset right now. Does it pick up / have a larger overarching plot device driving it? I’d love it if so!
android tablet review thing
I’ve had an 9.7" iPad since 2016, and it’s served me pretty well! I primarily use it for media consumption, as well as for some writing. But Apple’s OS updates have not been kind to the device. It runs quite slow even doing basic tasks, gets pretty hot, and just feels a bit old. Also, when reading manga, it’s a bit too large for me to hold one-handed. The storage is also limited and can’t be expanded.
Back in the day I owned a Nexus 7 tablet and loved the heck out of it for reading manga. I read a bunch of One Piece, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Berserk, and more on it. I could hold it with one hand, page through, and it was so light that it wasn’t a burden. Also, it was about the size of a regular manga volume. Plus microSD card slot. 
So I did some research… iPad Mini would be nice because I’m pretty deep into the Apple ecosystem right now and I know it’d meet my needs. But holy shit, it’s $649 for a 256 GB iPad Mini. 
At that cost and it eventually becoming pretty slow and not lasting that long, as well as my digital manga collection being bigger than that amount of storage, I started to explore smaller Android tablets. Samsung and Lenovo both have some older models… but then I found this rando brand ALLDOCUBE iPlay50 Mini Pro that had some pretty positive reviews online. It’s an 8.4" tablet, runs Android, has a microSD card slot, and the 256 GB model only cost $135. The iPlay50 Mini Pro is nearly 5x cheaper than an iPad mini, plus I can expand the storage and manage the files on an microSD card.
I figured why the heck not go for it at that price. the ALLDOCUBE iPlay50 Mini Pro arrived, and here’s what I think about it (specifically for reading manga, that’s all I’ve done with it).
Gonna be honest: it’s just what I was looking for, especially at that price. I really like it. I can comfortably hold it with one hand. The screen is good enough. The viewing angles aren’t as good as Apple’s products, but hasn’t been a problem. The resolution is great, text is crisp and higher res manga looks fantastic. The device runs Android really smoothly (very different experience than my old iPad running iPadOS). I loaded up a microSD card with my manga, downloaded the various apps I use, and have been reading most of what I wrote about on it.
When it’s dark out or I’m in bed or when I can’t hold a print book, it’s very much meeting my needs. You get what you pay for with the build quality: it’s got a little bit of a flex to it. The metal casing does make it feel a bit more premium than a plastic casing. It came with a bad screen protector which I took off because it made the viewing angles worse, but holy smokes is the screen a fingerprint magnet. That’s actually my primary complaint. But I don’t notice it when reading manga and just clean it off.
Spreads aren’t so great on the device due to its smaller size. On my iPad, I could, in theory, read it horizontally like a book. But I prefer the single page experience. When a spread comes up, I just rotate the device to see it. Spreads work on the iPlay50 but are a bit tiny. Not ideal! But not a dealbreaker for me.
If you’re looking for a great DRM-free app for reading manga on Android, CDisplayEx is the best I found. It’s worth paying for, absolutely.
I’m using the Viz, Shonen Jump, Manga Up!, Manga Plus, K Manga, and Kindle apps too. All of those apps are a whole other write up… It’s a bit hellish having all these different apps, many of them publisher-based. Basically I’m able to access my digital library pretty easily. With one glaring exception: Dark Horse. I own all of Berserk digitally and some other smaller series like RG Veda, Mail, MPD Psycho, etc. on the Dark Horse Digital platform. Turns out they freaking discontinued their Android app in March 2024 to just support iOS! Who does that? Pretty bonkers. It’s a lot of work for Dark Horse build and maintain that software for sure, but pretty frustrating. I won’t buy digitally from them any longer—I can just use Kindle I guess (RIP Comixology). The Dark Horse app used to have some really incredible sales though. This, to me, is a prime example of what scares me with digital purchases, especially those tied to a specific app. There’s nothing stopping the apps from being pulled, even if content was purchased. It’s easy to obtain back-ups online, but idk, shitty biz practice.
I dislike Amazon and they’ve sort of ruined Comixology, but at least I can prob count on my purchases there being accessible in 20+ years (I hope). Digital prices are kind of bonkers though if not on sale IMO. Kindle also tend to have the highest resolution manga. Whereas the Viz and Shonen Jump apps are the lowest quality (which is disappointing and quite noticeable to my eyes).
Anyway! The iPlay50 Mini Pro has a terrible name but is very much a great, low cost device for reading digital manga on.
digital vs print
This tablet review has me thinking a lot about when to go digital or when to go print… It’s kind of tough. I don’t have a good rhyme or reason. Digital is great for getting releases not printed yet (or that won’t ever get printed in US). It’s also great for my life’s needs and different reading environments and portability. I really don’t want to buy 100 volumes of a shonen series. (But maybe I will buy HxH. 
)
I do like the feeling of holding a book and flipping through it and referencing the art. I like the bigger editions sometimes too, that can be a real treat for the art. So I think my thinking is landing on something like this:
- if a series I want to read is print-only, I buy it print, that’s easy
- if a series is available via a subscription like Viz or Shonen Jump, read it there first; if I love it and want to re-read and reference it, buy it print
- if a series if available to purchase digitally and on print, maybe try out the first volume and if I really love it, buy it print?
idk! I’ll prob just roll with it and see how it goes.
On this topic, I did order some print manga from Amazon and pretty much all of the volumes got dinged up and bent. They were very poorly packaged. The prices were the best I could find but I won’t buy books from Amazon again, the savings are not worth it if they’re going to arrive damaged. 
I’ll try some other online shops in the future and see how they go.
7 Likes
Haven’t got time to write a detailed response right now, but I just want to say how much this post rules.
I’ve been eyeing Tower Dungeon very hard for months now, but you may have just convinced me to finally give it a go.
Problem is, I basically only read my manga in paper form! Which obviously leads to several issues… So your recommendation for the Alldocube is also quite timely for me!
I don’t want more screen time in my life, but I do want more access to manga that won’t continue to accumulate on the precious little shelf space I have left. It’s full of dilemmas, the manga liker’s lifestyle!
Good luck with the two under 2! You can do it. You’ll look back on these days and smile wistfully.
3 Likes
Yeah Hakutaku is kind of missing a lot in character. The jump bloggers all think it’s dead on the vine which is a shame. I also have a lot of grace to Tenmaku Cinema and that died quick too. I feel like it couldve gotten more mileage out of actually trying to visually show games. That Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games manga has this lovely fake fighting game with lore etc.
Ichi is cool! Not precisely what I wanted from that artist post Act-Age but I’ll take what I can get, it’s great she’s back.
Chainsaw Man is quite beloved to me, for part 1. I think I found a lot of heart in the little family they build and how it all resolves, certainly more feeling than JJK or something, I think Sayonara Eri and Look back maybe get to be a bit more emotional in their packed form.
I’ve tried to get into Kagurabachi and just don’t get it. Gachiakuta and Saka Days fill that space for me. That said I’m nearly current with it since it’s only like 50 chaps.
Frieren, I think if it currently is not at your speed, it probably won’t get there. I don’t know precisely where that is in the story, but the priest doesn’t stick around long. There is a quest they’re on, and larger arcs
K Manga had demonic monetization. I’ve only really used it to read Blue Period.(
The jump app and the viz app are much more reasonable.
Tower Dungeon, coolest thing for me is how seamlessly Nihei moved into both fantasy but also just how silly it is. Sidonia Kishi has some of that but not like this.
2 Likes
I finished Bleach. It was just awesome. Even when it was bad it was still awesome. Pretty much every negative thing I’d heard about it turned out to be, in my mind, untrue anyway. I’ve read through Naruto, Dragon Ball, and now Bleach in the last several months so I think it’s time for a manga break, but then perhaps it’s finally time I figure out what One Piece is about. Either that or Berserk. Or Slam Dunk. Or Frieren. Or maybe the JoJo parts I haven’t read yet. Or Sakamato Days. Or…or…
4 Likes
I’m doing a few new things right now but mostly waiting to find something I really like. Quick highlights.
Toilet Bound Hanako Kun is probably the closest thing I have right now to consistently reading through. I find it a pretty fun Yokai thing, the art is world class, and the characterizations are quite refreshing, but trying to do a whole fantasy world in this school limits scale a bit.
Witch Hat Atelier
I’ve been reading this for about five years, it needs no introduction, and I truly do not get what people see in it. I have eyes, so of course the art, but the story does not resonate with me at all.
Kinda in a place where I’m waiting for my ongoings to update. Some highlights:
Fool Night (plant dystopia mystery)
No/Name (Wow Cyberpunk Edgerunners writers)
Hirayasumi (favorite iyashikei on the market right now)
Blue Giant Supreme (check out the movie too!)
Mahou Shoujo Dandelion is brand new get in on the ground floor.
Mujina Into the Deep (Inio asano kind of doing the matrix? I’m not sure if it’s good but I wanna know what he’s getting at)
Akane Banashi (makes me cry week to week)
2 Likes