Manga Log

This week's manga log: "Descending Stories," written and illustrated by Haruko Kumota.  Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList):   Yotarou is a former yakuza member fresh out of prison and fixated on just one thing: rather than return to a life of crime, the young man aspires to take to the stage of Rakugo, a traditional Japanese form of comedic storytelling. Inspired during his incarceration by the performance of distinguished practitioner Yakumo Yuurakutei, he sets his mind on meeting the man who changed his life. After hearing Yotarou's desperate appeal for his mentorship, Yakumo is left with no choice but to accept his very first apprentice. As he eagerly begins his training, Yotarou meets Konatsu, an abrasive young woman who has been under Yakumo's care ever since her beloved father Sukeroku Yuurakutei, another prolific Rakugo performer, passed away. Through her hidden passion, Yotarou is drawn to Sukeroku's unique style of Rakugo despite learning under contrasting techniques. Upon seeing this, old memories and feelings return to Yakumo who reminisces about a much earlier time when he made a promise with his greatest rival.  Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu is a story set in both the past and present, depicting the art of Rakugo, the relationships it creates, and the lives and hearts of those dedicated to keeping the unique form of storytelling alive. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.             Next series: “The Promised Neverland,” Pt. 3 [Final] Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Nodame Cantabile," written and illustrated by Tomoko Ninomiya.  Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList):  Shinichi Chiaki, the perfectionist son of a famous pianist, is in his fourth year at Momogaoka College of Music, hoping to achieve his secret dream of being a conductor. His admiration for his father led him to pursue a career in music. As much as he wants to return to Europe, his phobia of flying traps him in Japan where he now lives. One night, he passes out, and ends up being taken in by Megumi "Nodame" Noda. Upon first glance, Nodame is a talented pianist, but she is also slobbish and eccentric. What's even worse is that she is his neighbor and he ends up forced to work with her. Though it sounds like a recipe for disaster, Chiaki is drawn to this girl who makes him remember the love for music he once held. Just what does the future hold for this musical duo?  Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.            Next series: "Descending Stories," written and illustrated by Haruko Kumota. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Tsuredure Children," written and illustrated by Wakabayashi, Toshiya.  Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList):    Love is not simple. It is complicated, frustrating, often incomprehensible—and it is something that many high school students are all too familiar with. Love takes on countless forms, but it is an emotion common to different kinds of people: childhood friends, tsunderes, classmates, delinquents, and student council presidents. Love can also flourish between unlikely pairs who bury their feelings deep within them, making it harder and harder to say that one notorious phrase in the human language... "I love you." Tsurezure Children follows the journeys of numerous different couples and their romantic escapades. From the butterflies of a confession to the failed attempts at a first kiss, this story sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of young love. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.           Next series: Next series: "Nodame Cantabile," written and illustrated by Tomoko Ninomiya. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Love Hina," written and illustrated by Akamatsu, Ken. Description (courtesy of MangaDex):   Keitaro has had great difficulty getting into the university of his choice and no luck in meeting women. In a desperate effort to go into seclusion and study for his entrance exams, he volunteers to take over running his grandmother's hotel. His plans are ruined when he discovers that the "hotel" is actually an all-girls dormitory... and some serious distractions ensue. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.          Next series: "Tsuredure Children," written and illustrated by Wakabayashi, Toshiya. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "The Drops of God," written by Kibayashi, Shin, and illustrated by Okimoto, Shuu.  Description (courtesy of MangaDex):  The main character of the manga, a young man called Shizuku Kanzaki, discovers the beauty of wine after his father, a famous wine critic, dies and leaves an unusual will: a description of 12 wines he considers to be the best in the world, comparing them to Jesus Christ’s disciples. The first person to find these “disciples” will inherit the father’s wine collection, a contest that pits Shizuku against his adoptive brother, Issey Tomine, who works as a wine critic. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.         Next series: "Love Hina," written and illustrated by Akamatsu, Ken. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Golden Kamuy," written and illustrated by Noda, Satoru.  Description (courtesy of MangaDex):    In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.        Next series: "The Drops of God," written by Kibayashi, Shin, and illustrated by Okimoto, Shuu. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Shinobi Life," written and illustrated by Konami, Shouko.     Description (courtesy of MangaDex):   Energetic and strong-willed, Beni doesn't care if she lives or dies as long as her death will result in embarrassing her arrogant father! But one day, she suddenly encounters Kagetora, a ninja who's fallen from the sky and swears complete loyalty to her -- as her bodyguard. Kagetora has time traveled from a long, long time ago, and has devoted his life to protecting Princess Beni. Little does Kagetora know that this Beni is not the real princess... Can true love and honor survive after a centuries-long time warp -- in a crazy modern world? Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.       Next series: "Golden Kamuy," written and illustrated by Noda, Satoru. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Yona of the Dawn" follow-up episode.  Heavy spoilers up to the end of Volume 7 (or Chapter 41). This is also where the anime adaptation ends.  Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.       Next series:  "Shinobi Life," written and illustrated by Konami, Shouko Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Beck," written and illustrated by Sakuishi, Harold.    Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList):  Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka wasted away his middle school days listening to Japanese pop music and apathetically trudging through life—until a casual run-in with the enigmatic guitarist Ryuusuke "Ray" Minami. Through this encounter, Koyuki realizes what he has been missing all this time as Ray introduces him to western rock music and jumpstarts his desire to play guitar. Although various struggles plague his path to rock fame, Koyuki refuses to abandon the passion that gave his life purpose, balancing it together with school, work, and friends. Beck tells the story of the love and trial that accompanies pursuing a professional career in music as Koyuki and Ray work toward realizing the guitarist's dream of the ultimate band. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.       Next series: Yona of the Dawn Pt. 2   Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Demon Slayer," written and illustrated by Gotoge, Koyoharu.   Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList): Ever since the death of his father, the burden of supporting the family has fallen upon Tanjirou Kamado's shoulders. Though living impoverished on a remote mountain, the Kamado family are able to enjoy a relatively peaceful and happy life. One day, Tanjirou decides to go down to the local village to make a little money selling charcoal. On his way back, night falls, forcing Tanjirou to take shelter in the house of a strange man, who warns him of the existence of flesh-eating demons that lurk in the woods at night. When he finally arrives back home the next day, he is met with a horrifying sight—his whole family has been slaughtered. Worse still, the sole survivor is his sister Nezuko, who has been turned into a bloodthirsty demon. Consumed by rage and hatred, Tanjirou swears to avenge his family and stay by his only remaining sibling. Alongside the mysterious group calling themselves the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjirou will do whatever it takes to slay the demons and protect the remnants of his beloved sister's humanity. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.      Next series: Yona of the Dawn Pt. 2  Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

Re-upload. Sorry, this originally had show notes but I had to delete the episode that went live and repost it. I was working this through my phone and wasn’t about to re-type all of the notes on my small keyboard LOL. Technical difficulties stink :( --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Land of the Lustrous," written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa.  Description (courtesy of Wikipedia):     Land of the Lustrous is set in a far, distant future where the Earth had been struck six times by meteorites, ravaging it in the process. All of the remaining land was reduced to a single coast, whereas nearly all life was destroyed. Over vast stretches of time, a new race of sentient lifeforms emerged; immortal jewels that take the form of people. Phosphophyllite (Phos) is weak (with one of the lowest hardnesses) and considered useless by their peers. Phos asks their aloof but wise colleague Cinnabar for help after they receive an assignment to create a natural history encyclopedia, thus beginning their friendship and personal growth. Meanwhile, the "jewel people" are at war with the Lunarians (Moon people) who want to take advantage of their luxury value. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.     Next series: Inuyashiki Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "The Promised Neverland" follow-up episode. Heavy spoilers up to the end of Volume 12 (or Chapter 106). Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.      Next series:  "Land of the Lustrous," written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa.  Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Cardcaptor Sakura," written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Description (courtesy of MAL):    Sakura Kinomoto is your garden-variety ten-year-old fourth grader, until one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book containing a set of cards. Unfortunately, she has little time to divine what the cards mean because she accidentally stirs up a magical gust of wind and unintentionally scatters the cards all over the world. Suddenly awakened from the book, the Beast of the Seal, Keroberos (nicknamed Kero-chan), tells Sakura that she has released the mystical Clow Cards created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. The Cards are no ordinary playthings. Each of them possesses incredible powers, and because they like acting independently, Clow sealed all the Cards within a book. Now that the Cards are set free, they pose a grave danger upon the world, and it is up to Sakura to prevent the Cards from causing a catastrophe! Appointing Sakura the title of "the Cardcaptor" and granting her the Sealed Key, Keroberos tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Cards. Alongside her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and with Kero-chan's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with the everyday troubles of a young girl involving love, family, and school, all while she takes flight on her magical adventures as Sakura the Cardcaptor. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.     Next series:  "Land of the Lustrous," written and illustrated by Haruko Ichikawa. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: Flying Witch, written and illustrated by Chihiro Ishizuka.  Description (courtesy of MAL):   In the witches' tradition, when a practitioner turns 15, they must become independent and leave their home to study witchcraft. Makoto Kowata is one such apprentice witch who leaves her parents' home in Yokohama in pursuit of knowledge and training. Along with her companion Chito, a black cat familiar, they embark on a journey to Aomori, a region favored by witches due to its abundance of nature and affinity with magic. They begin their new life by living with Makoto's second cousins, Kei Kuramoto and his little sister Chinatsu.  While Makoto may seem to be attending high school like any other teenager, her whimsical and eccentric involvement with witchcraft sets her apart from others her age. From her encounter with an anthropomorphic dog fortune teller to the peculiar magic training she receives from her older sister Akane, Makoto's peaceful everyday life is filled with the idiosyncrasies of witchcraft that she shares with her friends and family. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.    Next series: "Cardcaptor Sakura," written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp.    Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: Sweetness & Lightning written and illustrated by Gido Amagakure.  Description (courtesy of MAL):  Since the death of his wife, Kouhei Inuzuka has been caring for his young daughter Tsumugi to the best of his abilities. However, with his lack of culinary knowledge and his busy job as a teacher, he is left relying on ready-made meals from convenience stores to feed the little girl. Frustrated at his own incapability to provide a fresh, nutritious meal for his daughter, Kouhei takes up an offer from his student, Kotori Iida, to come have dinner at her family's restaurant. But on their very first visit, the father and daughter discover that the restaurant is often closed due to Kotori's mother being away for work and that Kotori often eats alone. After much pleading from his pupil, Kouhei decides to continue to go to the restaurant with Tsumugi to cook and share delicious homemade food with Kotori.   Amaama to Inazuma follows the heartwarming story of a caring father trying his hardest to make his adorable little daughter happy, while exploring the meanings and values behind cooking, family, and the warm meals at home that are often taken for granted. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.   Next series: "Flying Witch," written and illustrated by Ishizuka, Chihiro.   Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: Vinland Saga, written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura. Description (courtesy of MAL):  Young Thorfinn grew up listening to the stories of old sailors that had traveled the ocean and reached the place of legend, Vinland. It's said to be warm and fertile, a place where there would be no need for fighting—not at all like the frozen village in Iceland where he was born, and certainly not like his current life as a mercenary. War is his home now. Though his father once told him, "You have no enemies, nobody does. There is nobody who it's okay to hurt," as he grew, Thorfinn knew that nothing was further from the truth.  The war between England and the Danes grows worse with each passing year. Death has become commonplace, and the viking mercenaries are loving every moment of it. Allying with either side will cause a massive swing in the balance of power, and the vikings are happy to make names for themselves and take any spoils they earn along the way. Among the chaos, Thorfinn must take his revenge and kill the man who murdered his father, Askeladd. The only paradise for the vikings, it seems, is the era of war and death that rages on. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.  Next series: "Sweetness and Lightning," written and illustrated by Gido Amagakure.  Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "The Ghost in the Shell" written and illustrated by Shirow, Masamune.  Description (courtesy of MAL): In a near future, technology has firmly taken root into society at large. Cybernetic implants are nothing uncommon and robots roam as plentiful as humans, all connected through their ''ghosts'' to the electronic datastreams of the net. Major Motoko Kusanagi and the Public Security Section 9 find themselves in a constant battle with the newly created wave of technological terrorists and cyber-hackers. But things take a turn once Motoko gets involved in a certain case involving an extremely dangerous ''ghost''hacker nicknamed the Puppeteer, as she dives deeper and deeper into the limitless reality of the net, to reach her own startling conclusions.  Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod. Next series: "Vinland Saga," written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura. Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: "Blade of the Immortal" written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura.   Description (courtesy of Amazon):   A cursed, seemingly immortal warrior aids a young girl in her quest for revenge, as the students of a brutal new sword school tear a bloody path across Japan. Hiroaki Samura's massive manga series spawned an anime run, a spinoff novel, an art book, and a live-action film! Samura's storytelling tour-de-force also won Japan's Media Arts Award, several British Eagle Awards, and an Eisner Award, among other international accolades. Intense and audacious, Blade takes period samurai action and deftly combines it with a modernist street idiom to create a style and mood like no other work of graphic fiction. Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.   Next series: Ghost in the Shell Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message

This week's manga log: Beastars, written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki.    Description (courtesy of Wikipedia):    The story takes place in a world of modern, civilized, anthropomorphic animals with a cultural divide between the carnivores and herbivores. The series takes its name from the in-universe rank of Beastar, an individual of great talent, service, and notoriety. Legoshi, a large gray wolf, is a timid and quiet student of Cherryton Academy where he lives in a dorm with several other carnivorous students including his outgoing Labrador friend, Jack. As a member of the school's drama club, Legoshi works as a stagehand and supports the actors of the club headed by the star pupil Louis, a red deer. Out of nowhere, someone is brutally murdered and devoured in the night setting a wave of unease and distrust between the herbivore and carnivore students. At the same time, Legoshi has a fateful encounter with Haru, a small dwarf rabbit, and begins developing complex feelings for her.  Feel free to send your thoughts and questions via the Anchor app, the podcast e-mail: mangalogpod@gmail.com, or the podcast Twitter @mangalogpod.    Next series: "Blade of the Immortal" written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura.   Music: "Eternal Youth" by RUDE. Please support him! (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXHaVENo6E) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mangalog/message