Saffron Apple Pie Manga Recs

SLICE OF LIFE

✨ Aquatope of the White Sand by P.A. Works

(24 episodes)

I worked on the subs for this anime for an Asian streaming service and it was a lot of fun! I feel like this anime was overlooked though. It has beautiful animation and we follow a fun cast of characters living in Okinawa and working in aquariums!

ALTERNATE HISTORY

✨ Ooku: The Inner Chambers by Yoshinaga Fumi

(19 volumes, complete)

Available in English (hats off to the EN localization team, excellent work!)

Ooku is an alternate history taking place in Edo period Japan where a plague wipes out a large portion of the male population. This story is insanely well-written, gripping, and nuanced. It's not "lol men get wiped out and we get girl bosses". I can't get over how big-brained Yoshinaga-sensei is for writing this masterpiece. No words I have will do it justice. Just read it!

PLEASE LOOK UP ANY TRIGGER WARNINGS!

FANTASY

✨ Love Condemns Her by Hana Chatani

(one shot)

Support the creator and pick it up here!

Hana Chatani is one of my favorite artists I've been following for years. Their artwork is mesmerizing to me and I can't get enough. This is a lovely short story inspired by The Little Mermaid.

HISTORICAL, WW2

COCOON by Kyou Machiko

(one shot)

JP only

A one-shot manga based on the real-life events in Okinawa during WW2 and the school girls who were made to be nurses.

MYSTERY

Kujaku no Dance Dare ga Mita? by Asami Rito

(5 volumes, ongoing)

JP only

A former cop is killed and leaves a letter behind for his daughter, thus setting in motion the mystery of who was the real murderer.

HORROR, SUPERNATURAL

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window by Yamashita Tomoko

(10 volumes, complete+extra volume)

JP only

From the same author as Ikoku Nikki. Honestly, I'm not sure how to explain this title LOL. It's very strange and creepy and silly and... yeah. It was super fun to buddy read it with Colleen from Colleen's Manga Recs.

DRAMA

Hibari no Asa by Yamashita Tomoko

(2 volumes, complete)

JP only

Another one by Yamashita Tomoko! Be warned, this title is upsetting. It's a very good and important manga, but lord... I did not have fun reading it T-T

We follow 14-year-old Hibari, who is sexualized and treated adversely because of her more "developed/sensual" body.

ROMANCE

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 by Mashiro

(13 episodes, 9 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

A fun rom-com :)

DYSTOPIAN, POST-APOCOLYPTIC

Heavenly Delusion by Ishiguro Masakazu

(13 episodes, 10 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

This OP didn't have to go so hard.

I'm sorry idk what to say about this one either other than it's a dystopian. I watched it a while ago and it's not super fresh in my brain right now.

DRAMA, SUPERNATURAL, ROMANCE

My Happy Marriage by Agitogi Akumi

(12 episodes)

I could talk about demographics for hours but I tried to keep the thread concise and just address the question. (A little more detail in this post). I'm going to compare Japan and the U.S. because that's what I'm most familiar with.

The tweet I replied to was this:

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First, some things I need to get off my chest that I'm tired of people arguing — and say it with me — demographics are very important. Beyond reaching your target audience, they create various platforms and spaces for a larger variety of titles to be published, including more marginalized voices. Erasing demographics would only hurt marginalized works, like shoujo manga, which would be the first to go. Male oriented media/perspectives would become the default since we live in a patriarchy amongst other things. Titles would become samey.

No, gendered demographics are not necessarily reductive, usually people’s ideas regarding gender are. Sure, society can be weird about it, but gender isn’t inherently bad or evil. You are not as progressive as you think you are if you believe erasing gendered demographics is a good idea. That’s honestly a Gender Studies 101 take.

Some people say they don’t care about demographics or don’t notice and just read “what’s good”. That’s great, but yes you do notice, if even on a subconscious level (I see people subconsciously avoid certain demographics all the time). This is not a brag, but I can tell the demographic of any manga just by looking at the cover or a few pages even if I know nothing about it. There are meaningful differences obvious to those with an eye for it. Again, not a brag, but it’s there.

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With that out of the way — there are various factors that go into why a publisher labels a manga a certain way (combination of art style, writing, etc). There’s also a difference between how publishers in Japan and abroad do things.

Shoujo/shounen/seinen categorization obviously is a Japanese thing. (Josei isn’t really used in Japan and is often grouped with shoujo, but that’s another convo right now). And these labels only apply to manga. They’re not used for manhwa, webtoons, or even light novel manga adaptions. Those are all different subgroups under the umbrella of comics. Calling a webtoon a shoujo is like calling The Walking Dead comics (a western comic series) a seinen. I’m not saying one is better than the other, they just have different categorization labels.

Even the LN manga adaption of The Apothecary Diaries, for example, is not shelved with the rest of the seinen manga. It is labeled a seinen on many ebook sites (more on them later) but there’s a separate LN manga adaption shelf. Why? I can tell when something is a LN adaption without being told because they do have different vibes and appeals, and thus different audiences. For sure there’s a Venn Diagram of manga, LN adaptions, and webtoon readers etc. but the Venn Diagram is not a circle.

In the U.S., there are different but sometimes similar labels used in publishing (young adult, for example) but it’s not a one-to-one. Overseas publishers probably have more leeway on how they market things because of this. It’s a different market from Japan, a market unfamiliar with JP demographics and magazines. EN publishers use imprints and this is meant to replace JP publishers using magazines (which the JP imprints on based on). In the U.S., bookstores arrange manga by alphabetical order, no regard for demographics or genre or anything. That was so weird to me the first time I saw it.

Normally EN manga have imprints and group series based on the "theme" of that imprint, but in Japan it's based on the magazine it's published in since each magazine has a “publishing house style” that is appealing to a specific taste for their readers. If you like one series from a certain magazine, it's likely you'll like another from the same magazine. They group the series based on these magazine imprints in stores.

Even EN novels are organized in categories, like genre, reader age, and/or gender, and then alphabetical order. In Japan, manga is organized by demographic (shounen, seinen, shoujo) > publisher > magazine/imprint > then alphabetical order.

You’ll have the shounen section, but Jump titles are labeled on the shelf, and Square Enix titles are grouped together, then arranged by alphabetical order. This goes for both new and used. Even when there’s a separate area for new releases, they tend to group them this way.

To the far left, there are signs that say “seinen comics”, and the publishers “Shueisha”, “Shogakukan”, and “Kodansha” in the back. New releases are usually end-caps. The blue sign says “New Release Comics”. They tend to keep the demos together for these too.

Selling bundles of used series is common, so you can see in these pictures, the one on the left has signs on the shelves that say “Kodansha seinen comics”. Right pic is my local bookoff. It’s not explicitly labeled, but they grouped all the shoujo bundles on the same shelf.

Left: “shoujo comics/ladies" comics” (Josei is often referred to as “ladies' comics” in Japan). “BL/ladies' comics”. Right: the shelves are labeled “Champion”, “Sunday”, “Magazine”, “Jump” which are all shounen magazines.

Colleen had asked me some questions regarding manga demographics for their video (my contribution starts around the 32:04 section, but watch the whole vid because it’s good!) The section I helped with was about how a U.S. publisher changed the demographic of a series they licensed... which is... not how that works. I wouldn’t be surprised if the thing with Renta JP in the vid was similar to physical bookstores too, because of it’s part of marketing their “brand”.

We stan Colleen🫡

Since the magazines are sold in Japan and not just the tankobon volumes, readers there are likely more familiar with what series are published together under what demographic and what makes them fall under that demographic. Plus you HAVE to know the demographic to even be in the right section of a bookstore when looking for a specific title.

If they switched up what a manga is labeled as in the bookstore versus the magazine, that would muddle things and confuse readers. I can imagine they’d want readers shopping for one title to see their other titles next to it so they buy it. It’s all a part of their brand. But since the magazines aren’t sold outside Japan and the market is different, foreign publishers take liberties. Sometimes I wonder if they should’ve even used JP demos tbh.

Then the same Twitter user asked a follow up that led to more relevant stuff that I hadn't initially mentioned in the thread:

I picked up the Japanese tankobon of Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu (The Summer Hikaru Died) from my local bookstore back when vol.1 first came out and it was in the seinen section, which makes sense for this series. Renta JP has it under “ladies' comics” (usually what they call josei, since josei is not commonly used there).

I’m not 100% if this is the reason or not, but one possibility is that BL and horror have a lot of history with shoujosei so they labeled it as such. And in brick and mortar shops, like I said, the publisher would want their titles together so people buy more of their stuff. But a very very very common thing is that online, ebooks don’t have a physical shelf they’re on so the way you’re searching for them is different. So they changed the label for online searches for what gets the most hits/clicks. (I have seen the label for Hikaru change multiple times over the years on Renta btw - they're fudging the label for the clicks).

Horimiya is labeled shoujo on Renta, but it is in fact a shounen. It’s not in the shoujo section at bookstores.

It's from a shounen magazine and feels very shounen because of multiple reasons (like art, story style, etc.)

Again, they are playing around with the labels to optimize marketing for digital ebook sites versus brick-and-mortar book stores.

I call this ✨demographic gerrymandering but for comics✨ LOL and there's a reason I used the word "gerrymandering" as it's basically the bullshitting of demographics and it's not a word that has a positive connotation. Ebook sites are often a mess and the bane of my existence, causing more confusion...

But yeah, I hope this was informative!

To wrap up, check out Colleen's video about how demographics matter, actually -

And my thread that has some clips from a livestream I did with Colleen where we explain magazines and demographics some more -

CRIME, ACTION, DRAMA

✨GANGSTA. by Kohske

(8 volumes + chapters released past vol.8, hiatus)

Available in English

Please check out my dedicated post I linked for this series. I worked super hard on it!

If you take one recommendation from this list, let it be GANGSTA. I’m begging… This series is going in my all-time favs. I have a whole “Why You Should Check GANGSTA. Out” section in my dedicated post, so definitely take a look at that! But in short: Do you enjoy great character writing? A diverse, adult cast featuring different races and disability rep (deaf MC)? A gritty setting? A FOUND FAMILY OF DORKS?

I'm obsessed and I'm making it my mission to take as many of you down with me as possible...

TIME TRAVEL, SUPERNATURAL

Link Click directed by Li Haoling

(24 Episodes - Season 2 Coming Soon)

Link Click is a donghua from Studio LAN and streamed on Bilibili — the Chinese streaming service that I do some subs for, if you're unfamiliar with them — as well as Funimation. I enjoyed the art, animation, and atmosphere. The premise is that two guys working at a print shop time travel through photos to help their clients. And who doesn't love a trio of kids with a big-hearted jokester, the quiet, mature one, and a feisty girl who reins them in? I think this is my first donghua and I enjoyed it!

Plus, the opening and ending themes are pretty slick ->

Season 1 Opening Theme - Adding it to the playlist.

MECH, POLITICAL, SCHOOL

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury by Yatate Hajime

(12 Episodes + Prologue - Season 2 currently airing)

Let me tell you about me and Gundam.

I used to work at a translation company in Tokyo where I translated some Gundam figure commercials/interviews (which are currently privated on Youtube, unfortunately) amongst other things. I'm telling you guys, every time I walked into the office and saw an email from Bandai/TAMASHII NATIONS with a new Gundam translation request in my inbox, I would cry a lot little inside. I had never watched anything Gundam and didn't know what the heck was going on in the stuff I had to translate. There was this one interview with a figure designer where I was like, "Oh, you have to be a Gundam fan to understand what the heck he's talking about..." I remember me, another translator, and our editor staring at our screens exasperated. We managed, though. Big shoutout to the Gundam Wiki — not that I understood anything from it LOL.

If you told me back then that I would enjoy a Gundam thing, I would've laughed — but here I am, enjoying a Gundam thing. I'm not into mechs, even though I think robots/robot-adjacent stuff + space are cool. Still, I could never get into mechs for some reason. So if you're like me, try The Witch from Mercury. Our MCs are these two girls who end up engaged to each other in a rather hilarious way imo, with a colorful cast of supporting characters. The political themes I hear Gundam is known for really hooked me, and I LOVE how the kids handle a situation they end up in. I won't say more so as not to spoil it, but I think this is a great entry point for Gundam newbies!

Season 1 Opening Theme - Am I turning into a Gundam fan? Wild. Who would've thought the day would come? What if I start getting into Gunpla? A slippery slope, really.

SLICE OF LIFE, SCHOOL

✨Skip and Loafer by Takamatsu Misaki

(10 volumes, ongoing) + Season 1 Anime

Available in English

I remember seeing volume one of this series at the bookstore I frequented in Ikebukuro Station when it had just come out. Sooooo many times, I almost picked it up over the years. But I always passed because I was swamped with work, school, and current reads.

Now, I have a little more time on my hands, and the new anime adaptation has so much love put into it! A great coming-of-age story following young Mitsumi as she moves to the big city for school. This series is so wholesome, it's cavity-inducing.

This opening is the most delightful thing~

SLICE OF LIFE

Hotel Metsäpeuraan e Youkoso by Fukuta Seira

(5 volumes, ongoing)

JP only

In the mountains of Finland is a hotel run by two men. One day they see a young man outside in a snowstorm, and bring him inside. The men can tell that teenager Jun seems to have a heavy past and offer him a job and place to stay at the hotel.

Super cute, wholesome, and has great found family vibes!

SLICE OF LIFE, FOOD

Samenai Machi no Kisaten by Hasha

(2 volumes, complete)

JP only

A chill read with a touch of melancholy. At the end of each chapter is a recipe! The art is very cute and pleasing.

DYSTOPIAN, SCI-FI

✨Fool Night by Yasuda Kasumi

(8 volumes, ongoing)

JP only

In the future, the sky is blacked out, not allowing any sun through. To survive, technology has been developed to turn people into plants. The real horror is late stage capitalism though. I'm in love with the art and atmosphere of this series. I can't wait to read more!

ROMANCE

Gakusou by Tsurimaki Nodoka

(oneshot)

JP only

This is a super short one-chapter oneshot. Cute little read with lovely art! By the same author as 聖血の海獣/Seiketsu no Kemono, a 3-volume manga I've been meaning to read.

LGBTQ, DRAMA, COMEDY

To Strip The Flesh by Tooda Oto

(oneshot/anthology)

Available in English

An anthology that has some funny stories, and some that made me feel too seen...

DYSTOPIAN, SCI-FI, CRIME, ACTION, POLITICAL

✨PSYCHO-PASS by Urobuchi Gen

Check anilist for all content because the seasons, movies, manga, light novels, and watch order are a little all over the place.

The Psycho-Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami manga is available in English from publisher Dark Horse.

Set in the future, Japan has implemented a surveillance state that measures people's psyche and flags anyone with the potential to do crime, even if they have not done anything or will never have done anything.

I watched season one back when it first came out in 2012. Since then, I would see ads for new content at the train stations in Japan and thought I’d catch up. There’s a new movie, PSYCHO-PASS PROVIDENCE, releasing May 12, 2023.

I've been having a lot of dumb, edgy fun with this series and its on-the-nose political themes. It's kinda camp-y? I do wish it spent more time on character moments, though.

I love me a trio (which seems to be a theme in this round-up lol) and this series has a good trio! Akane is such a great character, and Shinya and MY BOY GINOZA NOBUCHIKA!!! have been thoroughly entertaining me.

HISTORICAL, DRAMA

✨Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch’s Life in Mongol by Tomato Soup

(3 volumes, ongoing)

JP only. The first 5 chapters are up for free in JP here. English summary in this post

A learned Irani slave girl is taken captive by the Mongols in the 13th century and has to use her knowledge to survive. Well-researched historical fiction about Fatima, who was a real person in history. I wrote a long detailed post about it, so check it out!

DRAMA, ART

✨Untitled Blue by Natsume Yukiko

(3 volumes, ongoing)

JP only - English summary in this post

I fell for Untitled Blue SO HARD, and I need the next volume immediately. A suicidal boy who just wants to make art uses the name of a burnt-out prodigy girl to sell his works in anonymity. The found family vibes and feels are strong in this one... And there are some absolutely SICK pages in this.

DRAMA, PSYCHOLOGICAL, ROMANCE

Haru’s Curse by Konishi Asuka

(2 volumes, complete)

Available in English

A woman falls for her dead sister's man and we follow a story about guilt and grief. This is a well-written short manga that tackles touchy topics in a thoughtful manner.

PSYCHOLOGICAL, DRAMA, SCI-FI

Takopi’s Original Sin by Taizan5

(2 volumes, complete)

English available to read on mangaplus

A short manga that was quite popular in Japan by the same author of the currently publishing Jump series The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins, this title is a good intro into Taizan 5's work. The art is expressive, the page turn is used well, and it takes a look at human psychology through three children with complicated relationships and living situations.

LGBTQ, SLICE OF LIFE

Kawa yori mo Nagaku Yuruyaka ni by Yoshida Akimi

(2 volumes, complete)

JP only

From Yoshida-sensei of Banana Fish fame, this short manga predates her more well-known work and you can see her explore some of the themes and ideas that you'll often see in Yoshida's works. I didn't relate to the characters (Which is actually nice sometimes! Different perspectives are good!) and it's kind of a weird manga, but it got a few laughs out of me and it was cool seeing Yoshida experiment.

This is how he introduced himself to an American working at the base - WILD

COMEDY, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Let's Go Karaoke! by Wayama Yama

(oneshot)

Available in English

I've been eyeing this title for YEARS and almost bought it so many times. Finally read it and idk why it took me so long. A charming, quirky, silly, wholesome story about a yakuza getting singing lessons from a choir kid. There's a sequel that's currently being published, ファミレス行こ/Famiresu Iko/"Let's Go To a Diner," but it seems to have a slow release schedule and hasn't been released in volume form yet. I don't see it available to read digitally either so I guess we'll just wait for a tankobon release.

COMEDY, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Captivated, by You by Wayama Yama

(oneshot)

Available in English

A wholesome quick read that left me with a smile on my face. The characters in this manga are just sweet kids and it's delightfully mundane. I mean that in the best way. It was just so nice to read.

COMEDY, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Onna no Sono no Hoshi by Wayama Yama

(3 volumes, ongoing)

JP only

More of Wayama Yama's infectious brand of humor and fuzzy feelings that I'm completely in love with at this point. Read what I said for the last two titles - same good stuff.

DRAMA, SCI-FI, MYSTERY

✨Gene Bride by Takano Hitomi

(3 volumes, ongoing)

JP only - English summary in this post

Sci-fi title that slowly unfolds its mystery and features two incredibly charming characters with a hilarious dynamic and tons of personality.

DRAMA, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Ikoku Nikki by Yamashita Tomoko

(11 volumes, complete)

JP only

My current read!

15-year old Asa's parents passed away in a car accident and her aunt, Makio, who works as an author has taken her in. This series is so human and makes me feel too seen and it's too relatable... Gives me the warm and fuzzies but also makes me want to cry. I need Makio in my life tbh.

Spoilers for volume one will be labeled and my thoughts will be after that. There's a twist at the end of volume one that I will label if you just want to know the premise without getting spoiled for the twist. Twitter reading thread here. Twitter link to this post here.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

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Isahaya Ichi is an entertainment journalist interviewing a director about his new movie. Literally, on page one, from the moment the director opened his mouth, I immediately disliked him. I'm not joking when I say from the first two words I already knew where he was going. The 「ね、君…」 "Hey, you..." gave me the ick and I groaned. I'm not going to Japanese language deep dive to explain but briefly — using 君 in this context is kinda rude and he should've referred to her as Ms. Isahaya. A more polite version would've been like 「あの/すみません、諫早さん…」 "Excuse me, Ms. Isahaya.” Anyway, the director proceeds to talk to Ichi in a way that many women are unfortunately familiar with, essentially not taking her seriously and being inappropriate. And Ichi is rightfully PISSED.

In the very next scene, she's going for a jog and... some creep is waiting for her to pass through her running route and... jacking off in public to her running past... Apparently, this isn't the first time that guy has done so. Yikes.

Back at her office, two men with an appointment come by. Opening the door for them, one of the men presents her with a box of chocolates and says, "Isahaya Ichi. Do you remember me? I'm Masaki Makuhito. I was your soulmate." He proceeds to mention something about "Gene Bride." Ichi doesn't remember him but finds out that he was a classmate at the academy she went to. After some funny and awkward back and forth, we learn that Masaki had tagged along with the other man, Takechi, to see Ichi so he could give her chocolates and thank her. But thank her for what?

That night, Ichi dreams of her school days and we see some images that raise a lot of questions. Young Ichi in uniform, teachers, a "Life Plan" survey for students to fill out (NOT a "Career Plan" survey), multiple bridal couples at a "Gene Bride" event, and a girl calling Ichi's name. She wakes up in a cold sweat.

Ichi's boss, Hibiki, gave Masaki extra tickets their office got to a viewing of the director's movie which causes them to run into each other there. After the viewing, they see the director and the director proceeds to sexually harass her again.

Ugh..........

Ichi notices that when Masaki was talking to the director, the conversation was... well, normal and relevant. They actually discussed the movie and its references instead of... her looks and the fact she's a woman. The two share a taxi when they leave and Masaki tells her that he wanted to thank her for something back in their school days. They were told to not eat or drink anything because the school was going to take saliva samples so they could pair up the students for "Gene Bride." However, Masaki accidentally ate chocolate and was afraid to tell the teachers about it. When he was trying to figure out what to do, Ichi stood up and told the teachers that she accidentally ate chocolate herself which gave Masaki the opportunity to hightail it out of there. The two of them ended up getting paired together for "Gene Bride" as a result meaning they weren't technically soulmates since their saliva tests couldn't be done properly.

I love them.

Understandably, Ichi starts wondering why Masaki showed up all of a sudden seemingly out of nowhere, why the academy and "Gene Bride" business came back up. She starts to remember her friend from the academy and it seems like something had happened to the friend, haunting Ichi. Essentially, she works herself up to the point where she thinks Masaki came to say his thanks because he's dying and he's wrapping up loose ends. But, uh... he's fine. He's not dying lolll.

Had me hollering tbh.

She later has a job for other interviews with men, and Hibiki doesn't want to send Ichi alone as the number of times she's been harassed on the job is just disgusting. So Hibiki considers asking a male friend to accompany her to ensure Ichi is safe while doing her job (LOVE Hibiki!!!). Just then, Masaki happened to be visiting their office and they ask him to tag along on the job. Unsurprisingly, the interview went smoothly, and Ichi was taken seriously and respected — all because Masaki was silently sitting next to her. He tried to excuse himself to use the bathroom but Ichi refuses to let him get up as the last time a male colleague left her for a moment, the harassment started as if a switch got flipped.

After the job is done, she looks at some rings in the window of a store, considering buying one. She walks away and Masaki asks if she didn't want to get a ring but she says she just wanted one to use as "bug repellant," which leaves him confused as to what she means. Ichi has another interview to do right after this and tells Masaki not to come. He asks why and she doesn't give him a straight answer and tells him to figure it out for himself while he waits for her to come back. At first, he says, "Whatever, I don't wanna know that bad anyway. I have other stuff to worry about." So Ichi replies with, "How nice it must be. You guys can just think about yourselves and only yourselves. Meanwhile, we have to think about you. Otherwise, we risk getting ourselves killed." She walks away leaving him, and the questions he's left with annoy him to the point he makes it his mission to find the answers.

Truly, what a concept.

It turns out the reason he couldn't come to this particular interview is because she was going to meet a voice actress who had been harassed so badly, she almost completely left the industry. She was thankfully able to make a comeback but now surrounds herself with only female staff.

When Ichi comes back to meet with Masaki after her job is done, he starts rattling off all the research he did and talking about all the questions he now has answers to. He also knows why Ichi was looking at rings and offers her one he bought for her while also acknowledging how ridiculous it is that she even has to consider such measures in the first place. She's thrown off by the whole interaction and Masaki himself. Turns out the ring was not actually a ring, but a hook he got from a craft store. He says something along the lines of, "It's really handy. It looks like a ring but if you flip it over it becomes a weapon with the pointy end, which is perfect for you because you're so aggressive. And! You can use it to hang something on your wall."

I love it. 10/10 scene. I was laughing, crying, screaming, kicking my feet.

The chapter ends with the sentiment that things can change for the better little by little, eluding back to a conversation she had with Hibiki at the beginning of the chapter.

Breezing through the rest of the volume, Ichi asks Masaki to help her find her friend, Enami, from the academy. He tells her that his mother can probably help as she had been working for the academy for a long time.

The principal and some "inner circle" students from the academy are traveling for an exchange event of some kind, but their plane is delayed because of thick fog (btw the fog is an element that is constantly brought up throughout the volume). A few of the students sneak away to a nearby movie theater to kill some time. The way the students talk raises a lot of questions. They seem to be special students, they've never been to the movies, never ridden the train, call their phones "communication terminals," and seem to seldom leave the academy.

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***SPOILERS FOR THE TWIST AT THE END OF VOLUME ONE***

Ichi and Masaki happen to be meeting up at the same movie theater the students go to. One of the students drops her "communication terminal" on a ledge and tries to reach for it, almost falling over the railing in the process. Ichi grabs her and pulls her back to safety and Masaki retrieves the device for the girl. While handing it to Ichi, a voice from the phone says, "Facial recognition confirmed, device unlocked... Greetings, Isahaya Ichi." At that moment Ichi looks at the girl who takes off her face mask to reveal that the girl looks exactly like Ichi but younger, and has the same name but spelled with different kanji characters.

And the volume ends there.

In volume two we spend time with student Ichi and see adult Ichi and Masaki try to figure out what the heck is going on, as well as some adult Ichi flashbacks to her academy days with Enami. I'm super glad that the two Ichis each have their own personalities. While they might look exactly alike, they very much feel like different people.

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***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

From the very first page and throughout the story, there are multiple instances of misogyny, sexism, harassment, etc. that women are not strangers to. I'm sure a lot of women can relate, but for those of you who don't, I still would recommend you read this. If you don't relate, to you I say, "Empathy is sexy."

Seeing other perspectives, learning from them, and trying to understand people is very attractive guys. It's science, I don't make the rules. That's why Masaki is best boy. Be like Masaki.

Ichi is hitting her breaking point, exasperated with all the bullshit she, and others, have had to deal with for being women. Multiple times, she says あたしたち "we/us (women)" when she's faced with yet more bullshit, expressing her exhaustion and anger at all the hurdles women face.

I have some theories about how these themes play into the plot but I'll hold off because of spoilers.

This manga has sci-fi elements that are slowly revealed to us. At first, everything seems rather normal and mundane. But once we do get bits of info and clues, you quickly notice something weird is going on. And the reveal at the end of volume one really doubles down on that feeling. I really enjoyed how things were slowly unveiled.

Our main duo, Ichi and Masaki, both have strong personalities, and their interactions are highly entertaining.

Masaki and I are kindred spirits.

Ichi is professional, but you can tell she's seething inside when she has to deal with harassment. Outside of work, she's got more of an edge and can be quite curt, but all in polite Japanese of course lolll. Masaki is just... hilarious. Everything he does has me going like, "omg that's me." Every scene he's in is a good time while simultaneously being torture for Ichi. The two have a fun dynamic, bickering while somehow clicking at times as a team.

Read it for Ichi and Masaki, they're great.

I'm interested to see what Gene Bride does with its themes. I can already tell some messed up stuff is probably happening, but I just have so many questions. Along with the intriguing plot and mystery, we have characters with distinct personalities and lovable, humorous moments throughout! Please license this...

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Once again, since this isn't available in English, I'll summarize it like I always do for Japanese-only manga. Spoilers for volumes 1-2 will be labeled and my thoughts will be after that. Twitter reading thread here. Twitter link to this post here.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

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Anyone else get labeled a “gifted/honor student” growing up? Ugh…

Ogihara Akari was called an art prodigy as a child but fizzled out when she got older. On her way home one day, she swings by the ocean to scavenge driftwood for the art prep school she works at. To her surprise, while she's there a young man emerges from the ocean in front of her eyes. Akari offers to call for help but the boy tells her not to. If she does, he'll die right here, right now. Unable to walk away, Akari brings him home where he proceeds to pass out on her couch. She tries to find an ID but instead finds an expensive watch engraved with the name of a big financial conglomerate.

It’s fine! On my second day in Japan way back when, I got in a stranger guy’s car in Ishinomaki who was fixing graves without a second thought because I got lost looking for the ferry. Sweet guy! I’m alive and didn’t get kidnapped! Don’t tell my mom... Don't do what I do guys, be safe. I speak Japanese and knew what I was doing.

The boy wakes up and wanders into a storage room in the house that's full of art supplies. When Akari realized where he went, she finds him painting and having read about her youth. While watching him paint, she sees childlike joy in him and he produces a beautiful piece of the beach where she found him. She asks him if he does Japanese painting but he says it was his first time using that kind of paint. FYI 日本画 nihonga or Japanese painting uses a specific type of paint. More info here. I met a nihonga artist who was getting ready for an exhibition at the art prep school I used to go to in Tokyo and I realized, "Wow, there's a lot about nihonga I don't know." I've seen nihonga materials at art supplies stores like Sekaido Shinjuku and PIGMENT TOKYO in Shinagawa, and I don't even know where to start tbh.

I mean, look at all this. At least there's cool stuff to look at on the long hike to the immigration office - PIGMENT TOKYO (Shinagawa)

The boy suggests that they sell his work under Akari's name because for reasons, he can't put his name out there. She insists that it won't be so simple but he goes, "You're a former prodigy. Let's just list it for like ¥800,000 or whatever."

¥800,000??? Sir??????? At first, I thought he said ¥80,000 which is like, yeah okay. But honestly? Ask for your worth artists!

Akari is envious that he was able to capture the feeling of the beach when she had drawn the same scenery over and over, but failed. Her work wasn't valued, but his painting of the beach actually sold for ¥800,000. Not only that, it was bought by Iwakura, a well-known artist in the nihonga scene. Akari thinks that the boy should come forward as the artist of the piece. Instead, he asks her how much time ¥800,000 would buy him to stay at her place and says, "Let me borrow your name and I'll give you fame and fortune." I am... screaming.

This is making me feral, both in a friendship way and a potential romance way. Porque no los dos?

While he's telling Akari that he thinks she never wanted to give up on art, her little brothers come home. She tells the kids that this stranger is... going to be living with them... Middle schooler Toma is a sweetheart who invites him to dinner, while high schooler Nagisa is also a great kid but more skeptical, pokes and prods, and is against it. We find out the boy's name is Omi and learn that Akari's parents died 8 years ago. Omi convinces Nagisa to let him stay because he'll make them ¥10,000,000. Nagisa agrees because he wants to make sure they can send Toma to college.

Later, Omi and Akari are talking and she asks him if he's somehow related to the financial conglomerate. She also expresses hesitation in letting him crash with them. This seems to hit a sore spot for Omi who feels like a burden and clearly has baggage.

Oof…

They discuss their arrangement and Omi talks about carving themselves into the world and having something to leave behind. One thing leads to another, and Akari ends up getting featured on Iwakura's TV show and a spot in an art gallery. She has a few close calls where she was at risk of getting exposed for not being the artist behind the piece. Akari's sudden success has also led to others feeling animosity toward her. However, Akari starts to show signs of coming into her own, and acknowledging her "sins." It looks like she's going to try and really get back into painting herself. Volume one ends with a “long-time fan” of Akari's coming to the gallery and confronting her, claiming that he knows she's lying.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME TWO***

The “fan” seems to know something is up, possibly that Omi is staying with Akari. It seems like he might be some gangster or perhaps works for the big financial group? We’re not told who he is yet.

Akari starts putting her all into art and taking it seriously. Back at the Ogihara household, Toma is showing an interest in art as well. Nagisa however, snaps at his siblings. I think it's from a place of worry for their future as well as discomfort with all the changes since Omi showed up. His outburst reminded me of parents who want their kids to pick “safe” paths that are more likely to lead to a secure future, hence why he’s so worried about sending Toma to college. They’ve all had to grow up quickly after losing their parents.

Nagisa runs off and everyone goes looking for him. During their search, Akari's mind starts spinning, feeling guilty for ever letting art come before her brothers and dropping the ball at home. Since their parents passed, she's had to step up as the eldest. She thought that as long as she could protect her family, she'd be fine, even if that meant giving up on her dreams.

While my life is not beat-for-beat like Akari’s, there are A LOT of similarities and… oh man… this hurts…

Stuck trying to balance sacrificing for the people she loves, part of Akari can't give up on her passions for her own sake. After she finds Nagisa, she tells him to watch her paint. He goes on to say that he's worried she'll get hurt again, so she tells him, "I hope you'll be there to help me so I can come out of it okay." Which, omg, yes. Allowing yourself to ask for help and not shouldering everything alone is good! All these kids are just so precious, honestly.

Meanwhile, Omi gets a letter from the Amasawa financial group which sends him into a mental spiral. We don't get to see what's in the letter exactly, but he starts to think things like, "I'm running out of time." We later find out the letter is threatening to drag the Ogihara family into things if Omi doesn't contact them.

Hello darkness my old friend~

Akari goes to check on him and takes him outside for a change of pace, where they discuss some plans to participate in an art fair. Omi seemingly out of nowhere tells Akari they should have a contest and, "If you win, I'll give you your name back." Of course, Akari is confused as to what he means and turns him down.

In the second half of chapter 7, Toma is skipping school for the first time ever. The "fan" guy, whose name is Hijiri, had run into Toma before and takes him on a ride on the back of his motorcycle. Basically, this grown-ass man is trying to build camaraderie with a literal child so he can use him to get at Omi. He manipulates Toma's insecurities and I hate it. Toma, sweetie, get away from him!!!

I’m gonna throw hands, I swear if he touches a hair on Toma's head (ง’̀-‘́)ง

It turns out Hijiri is Omi's cousin, specifically the son of Omi's younger paternal uncle. Because of this, Omi was set to be the heir of the Amasawa family, leaving Hijiri to live in his shadow. To make matters worse, Hijiri's dad was a hobby artist and started giving Omi more attention when he showed greater artistic talent than his son. To make matters even worse, Omi has everything Hijiri wants, but he doesn't want it himself. Omi tells him that if he wants to be the heir, he can have the position, then immediately threw himself off a balcony and into a lake. Good lord... Hijiri is furious that his cousin doesn't appreciate everything he's been "blessed" with, and he's going to drag him back home to get money and stop the Amasawa group from looking down on him. Get help bro, sheesh.

I'll be brief about the second half of this volume:

We get loads of emotional beats that made me absolutely lose it. So much so, I actually shot up out of my seat and pulled a muscle LOL. The ending of volume 2 just... crushed me. I'm so upset and I need to know what happens next right this instant. I won't say much more as I think it would be best to read those parts for yourself when it's available. I know I keep saying this for a lot of my reads recently, but please license this.

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***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUMES 1-2***

As I mentioned in my Blue Period post, I'm an art kid. It's a big passion of mine. Having a well-written, realistically portrayed struggling artist/creative is always a plus in my book. I just wanna feel seen guys... This series delivers with a side of the kind of plot that we come to shoujosei for — chef's kiss.

The Ogihara family (including honorary member Omi) are lovable, interesting characters. I adore great sibling dynamics in stories, and this has great sibling dynamics! Akari and Omi are so different, but the same — two sides of the same coin? And Akari realizes this herself. Our main duo understand each other in some respects but don't at all in others. I liked how Akari understandably asks Omi personal questions the first day they met but doesn't pry when he clearly doesn't want to share. She leaves him be for the most part, not pestering him, but not to the point of letting him wallow around too much. But when she does push, it's from a place of caring and concern, and she does it in a way that makes that clear.

"How about a change of pace?"

"... Don't wanna... sounds like a pain."

"Oh, don't be like that! We're not going anywhere far." (Then she dragged him outside lol)

I'm sure some people are thinking, "You idiot, why are you bringing home some stranger and letting him live there? You don't even know who he is." And yeah, I feel that. But when Akari met Omi the way she did, she realized he was in a bad place, he was hurting, and desperately needed a hand to reach out to him. So, she took his hand. How could she leave him there? At the same time, I think Akari needed to meet him as much as he needed to meet her. I love that for them.

And Omi never crosses any lines with her. He doesn't have ulterior motives toward her in that way. There is potential romance, but there's no anime bullshit if you know what I mean. Omi is respectful, aware of the fact he's crashing at this stranger's house, and tries to contribute in his own way, albeit awkwardly. This guy was brought into this family and it warms my heart.

Initially, I was thinking that Akari would simply continue to be the face of the art while Omi produced it. I'm delighted to see that they're actually working together to be two halves of a whole! I think Akari was afraid to put her all into art while Omi might be putting too much of himself into his art. He's escaped a suffocating environment and could be going too hard pursuing the only thing he truly wants to do with his newfound freedom.

The art in Untitled Blue is lovely and does an amazing job of conveying how characters feel and nailing the mood in a scene. I enjoy the pacing as well.

Love it when you can feel a page!

This page feels like a visual representation of a panic attack but after the overwhelming thoughts, instead of the mental clarity she reaches here, your brain goes blank for a whole day. Glad you got the mental clarity route Akari.

These pages are sick, actual chills.

Speaking of art, there are some cool things that come up in the story. There's commentary on what makes art compelling, as well as scenes about art that's more realistic/photorealistic versus more stylized art.

"If you're getting this close to the real thing, why not just take a picture?"

"Is he serious? That's better than my drawing? It looks like something that took 5 seconds to draw." Isn't this basically what people say about Picasso's stuff? There was a line in Blue Period about this too.

I'm not saying photorealistic art is bad or less than. There are various opinions regarding this topic. A lot artists learn a foundation of what things are supposed to look like (still life, figure drawing, etc.) to learn the "rules" so they can break them. Some argue that "art normies" find realistic works more appealing than those with a more decerning eye. And this does come up in the manga.

There's also lots of talk about the value of art in various senses, and where they discuss the monetary value of art that I found interesting.

Yes, art is more than just the money, but artists are professionals that deserve to get paid well for their craft.

Loving the exploration of various ideas!

I'm not sure if this series is going to have romance or not, and whether it'll be more of a sub-genre or a big part of the manga. There are some incredibly tender scenes that could be taken as romantic, but could also be vulnerability and platonic love as well imo. MAL says it's drama/mystery/romance, but Renta! just has it listed under mystery/suspense, no romance, so idk. I'm cool with things being platonic or romantic as long as it's done well. Although, I kind of want more platonic relationships.

I'm reading this on Renta! and romance series like うるわしの宵の月/In the Clear Moonlit Dusk are tagged with 恋愛/romance. Untitled Blue doesn't have the tag though.

I was looking around to see if there was a release date for volume 3, but it turns out that there hasn't been a volume released since September 2021.

Volume 1 was released June 2021, and volume 2 was released September 2021.

But the mangaka tweeted this in November 2022:

"Untitled Blue volumes 1-2 are available 🎶 Volume 3 will release in the near future, so now's a great time to catch up 🎶”

Haven't seen any release dates, but it looks like we can look forward to volume 3 soon! I enjoyed Untitled Blue WAY more than I was expecting to and I can't wait to read more!!! After the end of volume 2, I need to know what happens... It actually made me tear up. I mean, aren't the best reading experiences the ones that make you bounce off the walls and scream at the page?

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Since this manga is only available in Japanese right now, I'll do what I did with my Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch's Life in Mongol post and summarize this first volume. Chapter one will be the most detailed, and then I'll be super brief with the rest. I also have a reading thread here. If you want to go in completely blind and just read my impressions, I'll put spoiler warnings around the summary and you can scroll past.

Quick disclaimer: There are no official translations for some names/terms, so I wrote what I thought was right with the context I currently have.

*Taps the sign again* ^

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

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The story starts with our protagonist Momo (last name is "Mikhailov" if I'm not mistaken) and hawk companion Popo riding a train on the hunt for The Book of Apis, which contains the knowledge to cure any ailment, even death. We are shown hints that Momo has some kind of relationship with a prince, but not much info is given to us at this time. Initially, I, and many others, thought Momo was a girl (and a boku-girl at that), but it turns out he's a boy. It’s a running gag in the manga.

Edward Elric, is that you?

Btw if you don't know what a boku-girl is, basically "boku" is a Japanese personal pronoun commonly used by boys. Sometimes, there are girls who use it, but in my experience and to my knowledge, it's quite rare (nonbinary/queer individuals use it too). I've considered using "boku" for myself when speaking Japanese, but for various reasons that this post by Mishima Kitan covers, I decided not to. There are so many Japanese personal pronouns y'all...

Anywho, in the kingdom of Afduff, there is a mysterious "King's Plague" that can only be healed with "Royal Touch" whenever it rains. Only the royals of the kingdom possess Royal Touch. However, this ability is unable to heal anything else. Momo runs into Princess Bianca and ends up at the palace library in his search for The Book of Apis. The king, shows up pissed that his daughter let some commoner into the library. It is revealed that Momo is from Radiania, a mighty empire with lots of great physicians. The greatest one of them is known as "Noah." The palace staff are shocked when the princess introduces him as a physician apprentice from Radiania. One of them is about to ask him if he knows Noah, but is quickly shut down by the king.

Momo decides to move on to keep looking for The Book of Apis. He says he's always moving towards his goal and encourages the princess to "fight for her freedom." That night, she sneaks into a bedroom and tries to stab someone in their sleep. This someone turns out to be her twin but is stopped by Momo. In Afduff, twins are seen as unlucky, and there is a custom where one twin is cast aside. The twin princess, Luna, was not killed but forced to live in hiding. Luna was let out just this once to perform Royal Touch in Bianca's place when she caught King's Plague herself. So it was actually Luna who was trying to kill her sister, Bianca, so she could stop living in the shadows.

Momo tells everyone that the plague is an affliction that will heal on its own, Royal Touch or not. In fact, Royal Touch is not a real ability, but people believed it was since the plague would heal after. But that was just because it got better on its own (We find out that the Royal Touch phenomenon is a real thing that happened in history. There are little historical facts sometimes in the manga. Thus Momo's Medical History I'm assuming?) Despite this, he still decides to cure Bianca of King's Plague using his medical skills, shocking those around him.

Popo, the surgical assistant bird. So talented. I hope we get to see lots of cool medical stuff!

Interestingly, they are more shocked at the medical/surgical techniques rather than the fact that a small child is performing them. I guess modern medicine isn't that common in this world? We get more information throughout the volume that points to medicine and technology being rather primitive in most countries, Radiania being an exception.

The king begs Momo to keep quiet about a royal catching King's Plague, and Momo agrees to do so if Luna is set free. Momo has actually been ordered to NOT treat anyone outside the Radiania royal family unless absolutely necessary. Bianca would have gotten better with rest over time, but Momo cured her more quickly so she could get back to convincing the citizens of the power of Royal Touch. This gives him leverage to ask for Luna's freedom as compensation from the king instead of riches.

"Set her free. Don't worry, I don't intend on changing the course of history. I was told not to heal anyone that didn't absolutely need it. I cured your sister so you could be free."

"Momo, why would you... go to such lengths...?"

We love a good boy in this house... how cute...

Oh, and it turns out Momo is Noah! I knew it :) We also find out in a flashback that he is a prodigy and has the talent to be a great physician.

The next two chapters in this volume follow similarly episodic adventures where Momo goes to a new location in search of The Book of Apis, meets new characters, and helps them. This aspect reminded me of Mushishi. In that series, we're in a new location each episode, with a new mystery, and by the end, Ginko uses his expertise to solve the case and help the afflicted. Go check out Mushishi or else.

In chapter two, we're in a village with a vampire problem. And in chapter three, Momo joins a circus to chase a lead. Although I have to admit, the side characters left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Idk, I guess some things felt a bit predictable? Still a good time, though.

A whole village is crucifying and burning corpses to prevent vampirization, but then a 13-year-old armed with science performed a blood transfusion.

These episodic chapters need to introduce a story-of-the-week, new characters, a conclusion, and make it all satisfying in just one chapter. That's a tall order. In general, each chapter is a fun time, but the weakest part for me was the side characters for each chapter. A lot of manga start off more episodic and get more plot-heavy, introducing more important side characters as they go on, so I'm looking forward to that.

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***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

So! We have a fantasy/adventure featuring science and medicine, and a charming protagonist, all drawn in a pleasing art style. That's my cup of tea. The fantasy of this series looks like it's pretty grounded. There aren't any magical powers (so far), but science and legends instead. Nice!

Love the atmosphere here.

The first volume seems promising and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few volumes shake out. I'm particularly hoping for more characters to fall for/character dynamics and more plot deep-diving. I hope the episodic nature of the chapters doesn't stick around for too long. But I'm not worried because as I mentioned before, this is pretty common in manga.

This made me laugh more than I care to admit. I'm a simple soul.

While there were plenty of funny, cute, charming moments, we can also see the weight Momo carries on his tiny shoulders. He's on a mission to save a person he cares deeply about, and he's constantly moving forward toward that goal.

I was drafting up this post as I was reading and after I wrote the previous paragraph, this old lady was like, "That little boy is shouldering so much" and yeah, that's what I'm saying!

"I'll be your messiah."

Throughout the volume, there is information about Momo, his past, his relationship with the prince of Radiania, and so on sprinkled in. I like how we get crumbs that provide details, yet set up more questions.

I noticed the earrings too, mysterious old lady. Keep talking, say more.

Another sort of random thing I want to mention is I'd like more from Popo. He does help out and is fun to have on the page, but I want more. I don't want him to only be some cute animal mascot that's just there. Think Carue/Karoo, Vivi's duck, from One Piece (Alabasta Arc) — Cute animal character with some great moments! There's another comic, Cut Time, featuring a small child with a falcon companion, but in that case, it's a seeing-eye falcon, which is also cool.

Lovely comic by Juby!

In this series, we have uh... *checks notes* surgical assistant hawk lol. Which is great tbh, love that. The gijinka/human form of Popo and the silly comic strips at the end of the volume gave him so much personality. Put all that personality in the main story. More personality for the bird please.

Love that human Popo would be this character type, AKA one of my favorite character types.

Most of my criticisms are largely nitpicks right now.

He didn’t need to follow up and explicitly say what he was thinking/feeling. It’s already obvious.

The beginning of this reminds me of Fullmetal Alchemist. Traveling through a fantasy European-ish setting, an intelligent young lad seeking otherworldly items to bring back someone they love from the dead, and all that fun stuff. Now I don't want a Fullmetal 2.0, but if Momo's Medical History can deliver some great character work that Fullmetal is known for, then that would make me very happy. It's already got an intriguing plot that's the kind of thing I gravitate towards. I'm optimistic! I guess I'll have to add yet another title to my reading list if it keeps going well *nervously looks at my current reading list...*

This kid really said I wanna play God... Don't fly too close to the sun, Momo...

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I don't know Miyazaki that well and some people have the impression that he's a grumpy, nihilistic old man. Whether you love or hate him, that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. Just what’s in this video. His comments could be interpreted as very harsh. Personally, looking at this video, I think he's just critically thinking here. Whether he's right or not aside for a moment, it’s clear he's given it decent thought (which seems to be much more than the presenters themselves but more on that later). I took it as he just feels so passionately about art and he was watching something that was painful. Something that is the antithesis of art.

"We humans are losing faith in ourselves." Why are we trying to automate the things that make us human and life worth living? Watching the presentation gave me the ick and felt so soulless, and not because they suggested it could be used in a zombie game.

The presenter says, "We don't mean to do anything by showing to the world." And there’s the problem.

This is a short clip with snippets of the meeting, but from what’s shown, the whole time they were presenting I kept thinking, “Okay but where are you going with this?” Then Suzuki says, "So, what is your goal?" and I was like, that's what I'm saying! They seem to struggle to respond and say, "We would like to build a machine that can draw pictures like humans." Okay... but why? There are plenty of humans out there that already draw. Then what?

It’s more accessible than ever, it just requires effort like most things, contrary to popular belief.

It needs to be “should” before “could”

People need to sit down and have an honest conversation with themselves about why. As someone who's honestly tired of having to constantly explain why I do what I do and why I care about the things I care about, I'm not saying you have to explain yourself to justify anything. But at least within yourself, you should know or at least be looking for that answer. You don't owe anyone an explanation but yourself (the presenters kind of have to because... they're presenting their work and need to talk about it, but you know what I mean). Of course, doing something just because you want to is valid. Not everything needs to be profound and deep, but you have a responsibility to consider the consequences of your actions. Let's take a moment to consider if something should be explored and make efforts to prepare precautions in an effort to prevent adverse effects.

Not everything needs to or should be automated. There’s a world of difference between using technology to produce more of a product for the sake of increasing profit versus using it to make safer working conditions. Mundane jobs or those that could be automated, shouldn’t be. This is exacerbated under capitalism where the only goal is to exponentially increase profit and there's a lack of a safety net for the most vulnerable.

"It's like that one episode of Spongebob," I say every chance I get.

The presenters here seem like they're trying to optimize animation and decrease the need for people instead of adding another tool to the toolbox for artists. The only "pro" I can think of for this is to make more money, faster. They see art as a commodity instead of a vital part of the human experience. Consume, consume, but no savoring. What's the point of automating everything? Then what? What are we left with when all of our agency is taken from us?

I’m sure OP didn’t mean it like, “It’s okay if blue collar jobs get automated,” and I want to interact in good faith. Like I mentioned, tech should be used to make safer working conditions. What’s the goal with these “innovations” guys? Be honest with yourselves.

The “human touch”

This isn't a case of a crotchety old man who fears change and innovation. While Studio Ghibli is known for its hand-drawn animation, they have utilized things like CGI. I don't think he's anti-technology. He may have been hesitant to use it at first, but being hesitant about the unknown and unfamiliar is a normal human reaction. We all do it. Refusing to listen and learn about the unfamiliar to eventually reach an educated opinion is where things can become a problem (but that opinion can still be in opposition after being educated on it). The CGI they utilized is a tool. So what makes that so different from what the presenters showed them? It lacks "the human touch." It's trying to remove human input from the equation as much as possible. It's not the technology, but the intent behind it.

In this clip we can see that Miyazaki isn't adverse to technology. It looks like they're using some CGI that has settings to calculate various factors. He suggests tweaks and is open to using it.

In Howl's Moving Castle, a 3D model is used as a tool to help them realize their vision. It's used to create a reference and then tweaked to add more weight to the castle's movements.

I think art inherently has something to say. Yes, even the cave-painting bear. That's the human touch, the human experience, and what provides meaning. What are the presenters in the video trying to say? I'm not sure they know either. Their AI model isn't inherently evil, but the intended implementation is out of touch.

While I'm sure there's something to be said about the potential threat to artists' livelihoods, that's not what I think pained Miyazaki and Suzuki the most. It was the lack of soul and meaning.

When Miyazaki started talking about his disabled friend, it hit me somewhere deep down. I couldn't figure out why, or rather I couldn't coherently explain it. The dehumanization? Words often fail us. I'm sure someone out there put the feeling into words more eloquently than I could.

This is something I don't really talk about publicly much, but the reason I have this maddening urge to create is because I have something to say. And I draw heavily on my life experiences, some of which are unique to me, the stories and ideas of others, and things that I love and want to share.

Sometimes bluntness is kind, and being nice is not

Do I think Miyazaki went too far or was too harsh? Honestly, no. I don't know if I could have been as calm and well-spoken, not even by a fraction. My frustration would consume me in the moment. There's nothing wrong with challenging someone in a civil manner. In fact, it should be done more often. Civilly of course! This isn’t a pass to be an aggressive ass. Hearing the thoughts of all types of people is vital to becoming a well-rounded person. You don't have to agree with them. But listening to someone and considering a different perspective is a healthy thing to do. I'm a big believer in being kind, but being "nice" to avoid hurting someone's feelings when they need to hear something is in fact, not kind. This was a perspective they needed to hear. I’m going to make the assumption they aren’t super involved in the art world, so they need the perspective of someone who is a part of that world.

Side note, I think a lot of this can be applied to the issues of the AI art that Frankensteins existing art and images. Obviously, art theft is an issue, but other than that it has a lot of the same issues as the ones I’ve already discussed.

If you saw my Takopi’s Original Sin post, I mentioned that Azuma’s situation was the most upsetting to me personally out of the three kids, and...

Can you tell I have good kid/academic trauma or whatever this is called? Is that a thing?

Similarly to Azuma, I can relate to Togo in a way. To me, he seemed like he was constantly uncomfortable. This is also the case for Natsumi and I could feel how cagey she was being.

The hospital scenes were the most triggering for me. It’s not like they were explicit or anything either. I won’t go into details about that because I just can’t right now. One comment I have for those scenes though, is they felt too clean and pretty? I feel like, in reality, that scene and situation is much more disturbing. I will say the way Natsumi’s guilt and trauma manifested was well done, though.

But moving on.

Something I didn’t expect was to like the stepmother as much as I did. She had some great lines. There were lots of inner monologues which is not something I usually like, but it makes sense for this type of story.

I don’t know much about the author but he has a few one shots. It seems he mainly worked in animation, perhaps most notably as a key animator for AKIRA. It feels like an experimental short that’s very atmospheric. However, I think it might be incomplete as the final chapter is not really an ending, but a segway to the next part of the story except nothing comes after it.

The art is detailed and dense. Even though each chapter was only a few pages, it felt like it was longer than it actually was. If it had more pages, I think it would’ve been tiring to read. There are lots of details and mid-tones, and I maybe would’ve liked more contrast to help with legibility. Although, I do think the mechanical designs work well with the softening effect of the shading.

I also like how the story just plays out and you learn about the world based on context and dialogue instead of having it exposited to you.

Overall, a nice, quick little read!

This one is also a few pages and follows a woman who is waiting for her partner to return, like he promised her.

While ANGEL OIL was made in 2006, TC-225 is a much older work from 1984. Before I checked when it was made, I could tell that this was probably an earlier work. This one feels more clunky and the exposition is a bit more ham-fisted.

After picking it up, I heard that it was a Jump+ title that did well digitally, got physicals in Japan, and had multiple reprints. I checked my copy and saw it was the 5th print run. The obi on it also had 即重版 (rush order for additional printing) on it.

But then this year got kind of wild for me personally, and I didn't feel like I was in the right place mentally to read it. Things have gotten even more intense and I'm still mentally scrambled, but I thought that I could use a story like Takopi right now to work through my own stuff like I did with Look Back and Goodbye Eri. I want to write a post for these two stories as well, however, I don't think I'm ready to address how Goodbye Eri in particular made me feel at the moment.

I made an educated guess that Takopi was probably an octopus-themed creature based on the name, but like omg…

And oh man, did Takopi mess up...

It was evident from the get-go before we even see any hard evidence that Shizuka was being bullied and was probably from a lower-income and/or broken household. What I really liked was how she was connected to Marina. I could understand why Marina acted how she did (not that it makes what she did okay or justified).

Both of the kids were hurting terribly, their parents failing them, and are forced to live in horribly stressful situations that all fueled an ugly cycle of pain. Azuma’s upbringing was the most triggering and upsetting to me personally, and once again, I get why he acted the way he did. Their parents are mostly to blame. These kids were at the end of their rope, desperate, and they don’t know what to do about it. The author seems to have a great understanding of human psychology and how to depict it.

How to traumatize your kid, yikes

While having all the best of intentions, the situation was beyond Takopi’s understanding. Early on they seem to not catch onto seemingly obvious things, or have trouble understanding why something turned out the way it did. Like how, “Talking it out will fix things!” but when it doesn’t, when a complicated situation does not have a simple solution, Takopi is shocked and thrown for a loop.

I will admit towards the very end, things got a little convoluted and kind of rushed. I wanted a little bit more from the ending, but overall it was a good read.

I like the fish eye effect

Taizan5 does a great job utilizing the page flip. Some series have actually bothered me for not doing so, even though I love them a lot. I read this physically, so I’m not sure how effective it is digitally when you read page by page. The art style is a bit on the cuter side, it’s expressive and fluid. At the same time, it does sometimes have this unnerving feeling as well.

I also read Taizan5’s one shot キスしたい男/Kisu Shitai Otoko/(no official title but I’d translate it as The Guy That Wants To Kiss), and started reading their new ongoing series The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins. The one shot is just shy of 50 pages making it very, very short, about 1/4 the length of an average tankobon volume, and the new series has just 4 chapters out at the time of this post.

There’s not much material in either right now, but I can see Taizan5’s style of writing in these works as well. They both, like Takopi, start with a rather whacky premise, but quickly get more serious. It’s always very apparent to me in their writing that their characters are going through something, and I can tell what it is they’re going through or how they feel before we’re even explicitly told.

*Spoilers for Kisu Shitai Otoko*

For example, I could tell right away that the mc was depressed and was working so he could run away, and avoid dealing with or processing his issues way before the reveal. I think Taizan5 does a good job of accurately portraying how people can be when going through emotional situations.