2024 - The year of manga

So I wanted to make one last post before the year was over because I wanted to shoutout some manga that's been licensed in english and is coming out in 2024, I really like how stuff has progressed because, yes, manga sales in the US (so basically the ones translated in english) have skyrocketed, if you look at what's selling, it's still just the usual shonen suspects for the most part with a few action oriented seinen that have risen in popularity through an adaptation, word of mouth or... whatever. Point is, the publishers could've just kept pumping out the same trashy shit that would be closers in style and tone to the top sellers (oh and they do, looking at some publishers and the sea of totally unknown but really shitty sounding titles is... an interesting experience) but we've been getting more and more super interesting stuff the past couple of years, from gekiga masters like Yoshiharu Tsuge, to an underrated gem like Music of Marie (which came like a decade late considering it used to be quite a bit more popular as just a really great manga) to Sheeply Horned Witch Romi to Homunculus which I personally prefer to Ichi The Killer (and as a side note to anyone that bought it because I've been meaning to look into it for months but is it censored? Can anyone look up the scanlation and the official releases? Because I heard the publisher is notorious for being dumb and censoring shit and I don't wanna buy it if it's ruined by a bunch of losers). Hell, even Marvel remembered that they had a Tsutomu Nihei Wolverine series and reprinted it this year so they managed the incredible feat of actually publishing one comic worth reading this year, that's pretty unbelievable coming from them.

But yeah, I'm only doing this because, like, how many of you even know that the Nishioka Kyodai collection of Kafka adaptations was published in english? It's from a non manga publisher and they even dun goof'd by forgetting to switch the cover with the backcover😅 but it's cool, with a publisher like that you would expect them to just flip it and they didn't. I don't wanna say that if this sells well we'll for sure get more Nishioka kyodai because they obviously only released this because they're adapting Kafka but maybe, just maybe, some translator will try and get some more of their stuff at a different publisher and that would be incredible, they're one of my absolute favorite acts in this medium and even now I can't shake this weird feeling 'cause I never expected to see one of their works licensed in english.

And so, first thing's first, Fanta is going to publish Kaneko's Search and Destroy, this is the first of his works to be licensed in english and knowing Fanta... I'm surprised it's so cheap, even with a paperback I expected a higher price from them so I'm pleasantly surprised. It's a bit weird that we're only now getting it because I actually though we'd get it a few years ago when they made that anime adaptation of Dororo but instead we got, iirc, two different manga readaptations of Dororo made by fuckknowsorcareswho, surely you know that this manga is a remix of that unfinished Tezuka manga that got canceled but somehow reached legendary status after he died, guess they ran out of stuff to push when they wanted to make a buck off the "god of manga" tag. Weird that we got this one first instead of Soil but by our powers combined, we can bring them all over if this one proves to be successful. And yes I said first because Bambi doesn't count but what does count is that it is now fully scanlated along with the prequel so get on that. Search and Destroy was scanlated too in case you want to check it out first, I actually just kept putting it off and forgetting and then once Fantagraphics announced they were publishing it I figured it'd be nice to read it in physicals for the first time. I have a tendency to keep things in my plan to read or plan to watch for years even if it's something done by people that I usually really love because I figured it's good to always have cool stuff in your backlog and with how little time I have for movies and manga and stuff these days... Hopefully I'll get around to reading Bambi at the start of the year and hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next EVOL chapter since it's translated, it just needs to be ts.

And speaking of stuff that I kept in my backlog for the longest time before reading... Viz is actually going to publish My Name is Shingo by Kazuo Umezu. I don't even wanna talk about how long it lingered in my plan to read for 😅 but this is another one I never expected to see in english, I guess Orochi sold well so I'll take this wonderful surprise. Umezu in general is pretty fantastic and this

Speaking of Viz, they continue to bring us more and more Taiyo Matsumoto, an actual god of manga. I'll always be grateful to Viz because Cats of Louvre never got scanlated and we only got to read it because they licensed it, I'm not even buttmad cause France got a full color edition too cause, like... um... I am but, like, better than nothing, fucking frenchies.

Anyway, Tokyo These Days or Tokyo Higoro actually has some chapters scanlated if you wanna give it a try but from what I read it's fantastic and one of those stories that you could tell he really wanted to tell. He's a genius of the medium and I hope to see more from him.

Switching to someone that was influenced by Matsumoto, Shinzo Keigo actually has TWO manga coming out next year. Hirayasumi is absolutely wonderful and I was following it but fell behind for a bit and then I noticed he had put it on hold but apparently it's just for a bit and not because of any medical reasons but he felt like he wasn't satisfied with the quality of the drawings, that's really cool of him, both that he cares so much and that he has the freedom to do that. There's also Holiday Junction from Denpa, this is a collection of short stories that never got scanlated so I'm looking forward to it, I hope it's good because, for example when I read Bokura no Funkasai I wasn't terrible impressed and I felt like the idea and setting were stronger than the end product but as a mangaka he kept progressing and he's reached a level where you can't help but be excited for his newest stuff, you look at Hirayasumi or Tokyo Alien Brothers and this guy is legit one of the best, if not the best people in the medium that made their debut only about 10 years ago. And I really want these to sell well because I'm hoping we get Nora of The Weeds too, I was really digging that one but it kept getting dropped and last I took a look it had chapters by several different groups and looking at the current state of things I'm not gonna touch it because some of the chapters might just be mtl garbage so I NEED these to sell well so I can get Nora of The Weeds.

There's a bunch of cool stuff releasing in 2024, stuff that I had my eye on for a few years even, like Fool Night or Orb:On The Movements of The Earth, there's new the new Tsuge from D&Q, they've been slow but steady with these, and I sure hope they start releasing Kamui soon if they're gonna release them at the pace they're releasing the Tsuge collections, there's Ryan Holmberg's new imprint Smudge (over at Living The Line), there's lost to look forward to in 2024. Seeing small publishers like One Peace Books, Glacier Bay, Star Fruit Books and the like continue to grow is an absolute pleasure, they deserve success for actually trying to bring some cool stuff to the plebeians and I'm sure they'll have some interesting stuff planned for 2024 too.

Happy new year ^_^

The best laid plans of mice and men...

We were supposed to have a bigger batch and if time and work wasn't enough to stop us, hardware failure sure did. As it stands, only one chapter of Rock is ready so until next year when we'll hopefully have it all sorted out, fun holidays and a very gay Christmas to you all. I'm gonna make another post before the year is over but this is gonna be the last release of 2023. Short year, they sure don't make 'em like they used to.

Rock ch. 03

Clash

Tokyo calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared and battle come down
Tokyo calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls

Putting Maiwai on hold for more Okazaki is worth it. This manga has such a bri'ish feel to it I almost had everyone talkin' wif a bri'ish accent, like. Woulda been grand, ennit? Proper work but some a youse beut la's be gobsmacked though, like, and I'd have ta lamp ya in the snotter, eh? Keep yer knickers on, we's went with yank instead.

Rock ch. 01-02

And now some more EVOL for all you Kaneko fiends out there. This chapter's hella cool just like the rest of the series is. Don't even try to tell me you ain't vibin' with this cuz I know you tweakin'.

EVOL ch. 07

Shock me like an electric eel

So, thing is... we're gonna put Maiwai on hiatus for a bit, don't worry we'll be back in a few months but considering we're barely over 1/4 in, the sheer size of the project is overwhelming so this is a good spot for a small pause since the chapter doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Maybe if we had another ts we could still keep this going but for now, Maiwai is gonna sit out until february-march.

Maiwai ch 31

eviL

Speaking of resurrecting projects, we once again return to the twisted mind of Atsushi Kaneko... since the least time we checked this out, a live action series was announced and will premiere in November, doesn't look amazing but who knows, personally I don't care much for it because I prefer the manga version and this chapter alone has so many cool looking panels.

After one of the best title drops ever in ch. 5, Kaneko is keeping that momentum going. First 4 chapters were more about set-up and while they were good, I feel like his manga in general takes a bit until it gets going, Soil and Deathco start out a bit slow too but Wet Moon grabs you from the first chapter. It's really cool how he actually worked the title into the story and didn't just leave it as a reference to one of his favorite albums, like I said, the title drop in ch. 5 was fantastic, I always like layered stuff like that. Okay, enough rambling, here's our labor of evol

EVOL ch. 06

Maiwai special two chapter arc "The Horny Mochi". He went a bit hard with the ecchi elements here but whatever.

Maiwai ch. 29-30

Words from the past

All out brawl. Time for Kamobayashi to show everyone who's boss.

Maiwai ch. 028 

Laughs and giggles

It's all fun and games until someone turns out to be an asshole.

Maiwai ch. 27
 

Captain White Butt

Remember that stupid show Sweet Sixteen where bitch ass rich kids would usually get expensive cars to go with their retarded and expensive cunt ass birthday parties?  Well now you do. Funako didn't get a ship though, so like, that's a spoiler alert, that crate they found didn't have a boat in it.

Maiwai ch. 026

Oinkynawa

Fun fact, Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid was actually from Okinawa, which explains why he was okay with teaching ancient japanese martial arts to whito piggu, he was a filthy murrican sympathizer. He's been dead long enough that I can joke like that, RIP to that lil guy, he was a real one.

The Story of My Village ch. 06

Treasure and puns.

Maiwai ch. 025

First they came for the socialists but I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade union and again I said nothing because I was not a union worker...

Like... here's a chapter of Maiwai. Whatever. I wonder if a couple of years from now scanlation will "evolve" into people just randomly making up the words themselves and them typesetting them on pictures of the raws taken by phone. At least publishers have gotten better these days...

Maiwai ch. 24

Hopscotch

What a riddle. Big problems make the brain go ouch.

Maiwai ch. 023

No more vacation, back to working the fields

And here we are, a new release is finally here and surprise surprise, we're finally able to resurrect an old project. 

Been a while. Ch. 6 is gonna take a while but for now (and hopefully until we finish it) this series is back on the front lines.

The Story of My Village ch. 5

Also, we're starting up vol. 3 of Maiwai: Taller Tales, Ikemen Edition

Maiwai ch. 022

Vacation time

Due to an unfortunate injury we'll be on hiatus for a bit longer and I don't have an eta when we'll be back so unless someone that can typeset decides to help out, we'll be taking a break.

 

Truth

And that's two volumes down. Set sail for the pirate bank.

Bit silly for Funako to just gloss over several hundred million dollars but then gush over a trillion yen. Like... no matter what part of the world you're in, several hundred million dollars should be universal. 

Maiwai ch. 021

Yen

That's why you should always pay attention in school, you never know, you might learn something useful for when you go on an adventure to find legendary hidden treasure. Y'know, the typical saturday. 

Maiwai ch. 020

Battle Royale

I actually prefer the manga over the novel. The movie is the weakest but it's still fun. I didn't and will never watch or read the american ripoff . But anyway, back to Maiwai.

Maiwai ch. 019

Oopsie

Late again. Sorry. But as always "better late than never"

Maiwai ch. 018

 

Words are cheap

But that's fine because I'm a cheap person.

 

Maiwai ch. 017

Words bubble up like cherry pop

And so Funako returns to the ocean...

Maiwai ch. 016

Despeation

What a weird kid😩

Maiwai ch. 015

Happy lazy day. 

The dive

Not sure why ch. 13 is so small but we bundled it up together with ch. 14. 

Maiwai ch. 013-014

Horny Mochi

Curiouser and curiouser. More mysteries, more action, more ocean.

Maiwai ch. 012

Oh and here's the batch for the first volume. I deleted the old chapters because this contains all the fixes (don't get too excited though, they're just using different fonts for certain scenes and very small redraw improvements. Some people wanna make scanlation into rocket science.

Maiwai vol. 01

Black Flag

Well, this ended up running late. Anyway, that's a wrap for the first volume. Did Gramps discover Japan's own Hyperborea? Find out more next volume. See you soon.

Maiwai ch. 011

We'll serve up the batch in the weekend.

Happy belated Easter. And Happy early Easter to others. And to those that don't celebrate Easter... Happy Wednsday. 

Spinning Bird Kick

Everyone's tough these days. With so many movies and manga full of fighting and shooting, how can people not be tough? Everyone's a gangsta.

Anyway, we hit double digits so yay.

Maiwai ch. 010

Here There Be Pirates

Life at sea can be rough. 

Maiwai ch. 009

Rage

Yes, Maguro... that is very strange... that is very very strange....😒

Maiwai ch. 008

I am living my life to the fullest!

The past is never gone.

Maiwai ch. 007

Mysteries that lay deep

The deep sea really is fascinating... but also weird... and scary.

I really like some of the visual transitions Mochi is doing even so early in the series, like on pg 152, that was really cool

Maiwai ch. 6

The deep sea is a truly horrifying place, here are some examples of the monstrosities lurking there like the goblin shark as well as other assortment of underwater spiders and vampire squids. There are also cute lil guys like this though.

Odd shaped head, odd shaped eyes

Gero gero gero gero. That's the sound frogs make in Japan, they're ribbiting in japanese. That has nothing to do with anything but in case you missed it, the lovely group We Need More Yankiis did Gerekusis. We were actually planning on doing it... like, two years ago😅 but it kept getting pushed back and then we started on the translation late last year and almost got done with the first volume but didn't have a ts so it was on hold. Good news is that they already finishing the entire thing (h-hayai!) which is cool because it's funny and all but I think the pacing is... weak. I'll go ahead and finish it myself by reading their scanlation, the theme is evident once you get a few chapters in but the execution he went with is quite unique. I'm curious about the ending because I know he just deiced to end it one day out of the blue and then he disappeared... never to be found again.

Anyway, Minoru Furuya is awesome, go read it and drop a thanks to these lovely people.

And now back to another very influential managka that never really managed to have a huge breakout hit but always did thins his way:

The answer is very simple, Funako. They are called douchebags. 

Also another thing you will say when reading this chapter: "Funako, noooo!"

Maiwai ch. 005

Hoshin Maru

The seventh page in this chapter (098) is beautiful, you can see him developing toward that art style he used in Tokyo Kaido and Chiisakobee.  

Maiwai ch. 004

Set sail for fail

People that wear shades are shady. And people that take steroids are boneheads.

Maiwai ch. 3 

Blinded by nostalgia

If you feel a sense of deja vu while reading this chapter, it's because a small scenes is recreated in Chiisakobee. The real ones will remember. Also, a familiar face from one of the stories in that short story collection by Mochi we did a while back (no, they're not the same character, maybe they're cousins though)

I wish there was a fat character in this chapter so I could reference the fact that the character are still on land and not at sea by saying something about said fat character where I would call them a land whale. Oh well. 

Maiwai ch. 2

My Way

Hello Mochi my old friend

I've come to talk to you again

And here... we... go! We're about to embark on our longest journey yet, this series is actually over 100 chapters so... yup, pretty scary. We've wanted to work on it for a long time though because it's by our ol' pal Minetaro Mochizuki and this is where he develops his new art style, you can see a blend of the two styles in these early volumes actually. 

Set sail!

Maiwai ch. 1

And also, you can check this out in case you missed it. Lots of  other cool garo stuff there. Very cool group, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Beginning not found

This was supposed to be done last year, but I fucked up... apologies, Fearless Leader-kun... Well, it's done now. We decided on releasing the entire thing together because it's a series of interconnected short stories (save for the last oneshot). Anyway, this is another work from Akane Torikai, I really like her voice and this one looks gorgeous, it's got this really nice style because it's all pencils and no inks, gives off a "sketchbook" style but it's not as scribbled, it's actually very controlled. Really cool art, mostly double page spreads. It's a bit abstract but pretty easy to "get" so I hope you enjoy. The title was hard to translate because it's very japanese and english just doesn't get along with japanese, a literal translation would be "Without a beginning/missing beginning, you must move forward" so I went with Lacuna Overture, press forward.

Let's all look ahead and move towards the future.

Lacuna Overture, press forward