The Manga Critic Con't

I won't lie: when I read the description for CRAZY FOOD TRUCK, it sounded like a gleeful mash-up of Mad Max and Food Truck Wars. Too bad the actual manga was so bland: http://mangacritic.mangabookshelf.com/2022/06/07/crazy-food-truck-vol-1/

The hitman who just can't escape his past is one the five most overused plotlines today, but SAKAMOTO DAYS manages to wring some fresh laughs out of this shopwork premise with inventive artwork and slapstick fight scenes. Full review here: http://mangacritic.mangabookshelf.com/2022/05/19/sakamoto-days-vol-1/

Looking ahead to next week, I'm aiming for a similarly eclectic line-up, with Nicola Traveling Around the Demon's World, Persona 5, At the Mountains of Madness, and Tropic of the Sea on deck. Time permitting, I might also tackle Satoko and Nada, another manga that I've been ruminating about for months. Stay tuned!

 Now that I'm back home again, I'm optimistic that I'll post at least 5-6 reviews in the coming week, beginning with Nagabe's The Wize Wize Beasts of Wizarding Wizdoms. Stay tuned!

I'm optimisitic that I'll be a little more productive in 2020. To kick off the new year, I'm embarking on a review-a-day project for the month of January. After that, my goal will be to post a review every week, dedicating a few months of the year to a specific topic: Jiro Taniguchi, horror manga, autobiographical manga, josei. More on what's come here: http://mangacritic.mangabookshelf.com/2020/01/01/the-review-a-day-project/.

Welp... the plans for a month-long horror manga fest didn't quite pan out, but I did manage to squeak out a few Halloween-themed reviews, as well as a review of the latest entry in the Louvre graphic novel series: Cats of the Louvre The Drifting Classroom Signature Edition, Vol. 1 Short Takes: Museum and Phantom Tales of the Night In an effort to stretch my wings a little, I also posted my first honest-to-goodness television review, sharing my thoughts about the disappointing third season of Stranger Things. Look for more television and film reviews in the coming months!

One sure sign that the new semester is underway is that I had less time for manga blogging in September! Nonetheless, I was able to post three reviews: Become You, Vol. 1 No Guns Life, Vol. 1 The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 In keeping with the Halloween spirit, I have plans for a month-long horror review festival. On deck for October are VIZ's deluxe edition of The Drifting Classroom--complete with hard covers and a new translation--the first volume of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, and at least one of Junji Ito's recent short story anthologies. We'll see if I have energy and time for more...

Last month, Ashley MacDonald was gracious enough to invite me onto her podcast Shojo & Tell to discuss three classic Moto Hagio titles: A, A', They Were Eleven, and A Drunken Dream, all of which have been published in English with translations by scholar Rachel Thorn. We had a great conversation about Hagio's work in particular, and shojo sci-fi in general. Take a listen!

For someone as active (and sometimes destructive) as Buster, he sure looks like an angel when he sleeps.

After a long hiatus from reviewing, I got my act together in August to post four new reviews: Ryuko, Vol. 1 The Poe Clan, Vol. 1 The Right Way to Make Jump Go With the Clouds North by Northwest, Vols. 1-2 I'm hoping to continue this momentum into the fall; if all goes as planned, I'll be updating the site with a new review, essay, or list every week. Stay tuned for a more formal roll-out of the new and improved site!

I'm fascinated by Baby Metal; they're one part Metallica, one part anime theme song, and 100% awesome. Who knew that pop metal could be so infectiously appealing?