Japanese: おとん
English: Oton (Or, Father)
Author: 猿渡哲也 Saruwatari Tetsuya
Amazon JP: Volume 1

Description:

Oton is a volume of shorts by Saruwatari Tetsuya that tell the story of Miyazawa Seiko, the father of the main character Kiichi in Tough. There are four short stories in here and the first three are about Miyazawa Seiko. The fourth is about Kiryu, another character from Tough. Manliness and badassery abound, be prepared for some good old face-punching and references to actual events in the real world in a way that only Saruwatari Tetsuya can deliver.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

If the above four pages don’t just scream “READ ME MOTHER FUCKER OR YOUR HEAD WILL BE RIPPED OFF AND PLACED ON MY MANTLE”, I don’t know what ever would. That man is the main driving force behind this volume of shorts. Mr. Miyazawa (not to be confused with Mr. Miyagi) is all that is man, and quite possibly the best father anyone could ever want. He is a good man, and knows when it’s time to kick the living hell out of the bad dudes. Generally all the time. He sets things right for people whenever it’s within his power to do so, and he does it with a fist made of steel.

The first three short stories that are about him basically show off what a ridiculously good person he is. All the while showing him beating up punks, “fixing” bad fathers, and taking on old rivals who kidnap his employers. He’s just an all around badass when it comes to fighting and the like. So if that’s the kind of thing you want to read about, then definitely pick up this book.

Oh, we’re not done yet though. I haven’t talked about the fourth short which is, to me, the real highlight of volume. I’m sure you’ll all agree. It’s about Kiryu’s American Adventures!

Well, kind of anyway. Most of it actually occurs in Afghanistan. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but let’s just say that Kiryu’s probably the reason that 9/11 occurred. We also have some guest appearances!

All in all though, if any of the above about Mr. Miyazawa didn’t convince you to go find Oton, then this pretty much should. Kiryu is basically hired by George W. Bush to go and find his daughter who has been kidnapped and is currently in Afghanistan. Kiryu does it the only way he knows how. By kicking shit tons of ass with his bare hands. And when I say shit tons of ass, I mean shit tons.

The artwork is pretty standard for a Saruwatari Tetsuya work. That is to say it’s gotten pretty decent over the years. I’ve heard complaints about his art style, but I’ve never had any problems with it personally. It’s detailed enough, his backgrounds and landscapes look nice, the gore is always excellent, and, well, the characters tend to just look fucked up or badass. So yeah, the artwork is quite good.

If you’re a man, you will find this and read it. That’s all I really have to say.

****/*****

Japanese: ブラス・ナックル
English: Blaster Knuckle
Author: 技来静也 Wazarai Shizuya
Amazon JP: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3

Description:

Take yourself back to the 1880s where the KKK is thriving and the African American community lives in fear. The African Americans don’t fear the KKK simply because they beat, rape, and kill them. No. They fear the KKK because the KKK eats them. They are the aptly named man-eaters, a kind of mix between werewolves and vampires. They consume human flesh, can shapeshift into various forms, and are practically immortal. Only one man, an ex-heavyweight boxer named Victor Freeman, dares to stand up to them. Equipped with a small arsenal and a set of modified brass knuckles, can our hero defend his people and avenge his past?

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

Victor Freeman is quite possibly the most badass African American hero ever depicted in manga form. Afro Samurai is cool and all, but he has nothing on Victor Freeman except for an anime adaptation. Victor Freeman has real problems to deal with.

Like racism.

White people.

The KKK.

Flesh eating monster werewolf-vampire-zombie hybrids.

You know, real world problems.

If that’s not enough to convince you that our man Victor Freeman is way better than that punk upstart Afro Samurai, well, you suck.

Seriously though, Blaster Knuckle is quite possibly the best blaxploitation manga ever created. It has everything going for it. It’s like Boss Nigger with a supernatural element to it and decent story writing. I found myself enjoying everything about Victor Freeman’s story, from the snippets shown about his past, to the nonstop punching in of the Man’s face on nearly every page. It’s quite possibly the only Western-style manga I’ve ever read and thoroughly enjoyed. Granted, that’s probably because Victor Freeman is strapped with a pair of brass knuckles with four shotgun barrels on the knuckle that he blows people’s heads into literal smithereens with. But hey, he does it well, damn it.

The artwork here is also something to take note of. Many people have found the art to be ridiculously similar to that of Miura Kentaro, the genius behind the Berserk manga. It’s true, there are many, many similarities to Berserk found within these three volumes. It’s been speculated that Wazarai Shizuya is a penname for Miura, but the more likely answer that I’ve heard is that he’s a high school buddy who was once Miura’s assistant, much like Mori Kouji the author of Holyland. That in mind, the artwork is amazingly fitting to the time period and the people in it. Victor Freeman and all of the other African American characters introduced here actually look like African Americans, not the freak caricatures that you usually find in anime and manga.

The demons also look like, well, disgusting demons. They’re drawn excellently as well.

In any case, I’ve found it best to read Blaster Knuckle while not trying to figure out any similarities it may have with Berserk or Miura’s art style or any of that. Just enjoy the ride through the mystical wild west and watch as Victor Freeman takes on the KKK monsters for what they did to him.

If you enjoy heads being blown up, racism, sticking it to the man, westerns, manliness, or extreme amounts of awesome, then you’ve probably already read this. If not, go find it now.

****/*****

(English versions thanks to Chinkara.)

Boichi is mostly a one shot author, though he does have an ongoing series in Young King OURS called Sun-Ken Rock. I have yet to sample it, but the artwork looks excellent and well up to Boichi standards.

Speaking of that, if you’ve never seen any of Boichi’s work here are a few pages to wet the proverbial whistles.

I’ll start off with his weakest but by no means bad short.

Diadem
English translation provided by Illuminati-Manga.

Found in Mandala 2, published by Kodansha’s Morning.

Description:

Diadem is about Lilith, a young lady whose father dies in a rebellion against an evil empire. She carries on her father’s war to the best of her abilities, being more brutal and more violent than the empire ever could be in her quest to destroy them. She does this believing that the Goddess of the North Wind will come and save everyone, setting them all free.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

The story line here isn’t nearly as surprising, uplifting, or amazing as it could be. Lilith’s father tells her that “freedom” runs through her veins, and that the Goddess of the North Wind will come to free her and everyone else if they continue to fight. So, they continue to fight and sure enough, Lilith is the Goddess of the North Wind! Not really that surprising or original. But honestly, that’s not why I like this story. It has some cool fighting, tits, and pretty much everything you could want in 14 pages.

Really though, the reason I recommend everyone take a look at this is because of the amazing art and coloring job that Boichi’s done. It is entirely in color, a rarity for Japanese comics, and each page is so meticulously drawn and colored that if you don’t just stop and stare at some of the panels there’s probably something wrong with you. It’s just that beautifully done.

The three stars below are entirely for the artwork, can’t exactly give it too many more because the story doesn’t add much here.

***/*****

Hotel
English translation provided by Kotonoha.

Published in Kodansha’s Morning.

Description:

Hotel is about a struggle against time. A struggle to last as long as is humanly possible in a world ravaged by global warming. As long as is humanly possible, except our main character is not human, it’s an AI. Louis Armstrong is a computer that is the last thing humanity ever built. The manager of a Hotel of sorts that houses DNA. Louis’ job is to keep the DNA alive and viable for as long as possible so that when the Earth is habitable again, he can restart life. The only DNA that is not in this Hotel is that of humankind…

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

It’s hard to find words to describe this short. In just 42 pages of beautiful artwork and scenery you’re drawn into sympathizing completely with an inhuman object. If that alone isn’t amazing, the premise, the story, and everything else in here is so absolutely well put together that it will leave you speechless. Louis struggle over the 27 million years that this story spans is worthy of legends. His love for his pseudo-father and mother told in flashbacks through his own “memories” that fade as he struggles to keep the Hotel in working order is more than most humans will ever feel.

The only real gripe one might have with the short is that some of the names are, well, reminiscent of real people.

There really isn’t much more that I can say about this other than to tell you to read it and see for yourself just how excellent this really is.

*****/*****

Present
English translation provided by Kotonoha.

Published in Kodansha’s Morning.

Description:

Another short in the vein of Hotel, Present is set in the future but isn’t as massive in proportions as the former. Present tells a story based around more human social problems, though it isn’t exactly what it seems. Hanako falls in love with her teacher Dr. Takao, and they seem to be well suited for each other. The only problem is that Hanako falls ill and is put into cryogenic stasis until they can cure her disease. She’s brought back two months later and told they can cure her, but all is not as it seems.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

Another brilliant short by Boichi, Present is right up there with Hotel for me. Same amazing Boichi artwork paired with a really human, and sad story. The ending isn’t entirely unexpected it, but Boichi plays it well enough that you aren’t exactly sure until the very end. Mr. Takao trying to make everything okay for Hanako, even though things are quite the opposite is extremely touching, and quite heartbreaking at the same time. This comic is also the reason that people kill themselves around Christmas time.

If you feel like the last time you cried was when you waited for Fry, then definitely read this. For those of us that seem to lack emotion, this can definitely bring some of it out of you.

*****/*****

Stephanos

Found in Mandala 1, published by Kodansha’s Morning.

Description:

Stephanos is set in modern day Japan where our main character Noriko finds out that she is pregnant with her lover Matsumura’s baby. He, however, is an important doctor with a family and everything already. Noriko wants to have the baby, but Matsumura says that it’s actually a rapidly growing cancer and that they have to remove it immediately. It might also be neither of these things…

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

Just when you think you know where this piece is going, you’re wrong. The ending might seem like it comes out of nowhere, but it still fits in with the narrative quite well to me. There is some slight bit of foreshadowing as to the ending. But enough talk about that, the story is good, the characters feel real and display emotion well, and the art is fantastic. Basically another Boichi short that I can recommend that everyone should read. It feels like a drama at first, but then turns into a horror as the pages drive on in their non-stop rush to the amazing ending.

Stephanos shows that Boichi is not just a scifi writer. He does horror and unease just as well. A good read, and I highly recommend that you check it out if you can ever get your hands on Mandala #1.

*****/*****

Brutality

Published in Shueisha’s Young Jump.

Description:

Brutality is actually written by Takeda Yuusuke 竹田雄介, Boichi only did the artwork. Set in a fantasy world based on ancient China, the story is about Fuuren, an armless Defender. Defenders are people who will complete their mission or assignments no matter what. If they accept them, that is. Fuuren has been called to a small town that is about to be taken over by the Ka empire, and they wish to hire him to help their armies defend their little town. However there is a little bit of intrigue within the town itself, and Fuuren accepts a different task altogether…

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

Even though this is written by someone else, it still shows a lot of Boichi’s characteristic humor. That’s not to say it’s a comedy, but it still feels like a Boichi short. The artwork is probably the best part about this as the story’s not amazingly awesome when compared to Boichi’s other shorts. Though I will say this, there is a lot more violence, fighting, gore, and tits in this than anything else Boichi’s done. Hell, the violence and fighting is exactly why I enjoy this short.

If you don’t enjoy multiple beheadings, arrows being sent through multiple heads, people being completely destroyed, or naked women, you probably won’t enjoy Brutality all that much. It’s definitely a MANga, if I must say so myself. Read it for the violence and tits, even if the story isn’t the greatest thing ever.

****/*****

Japanese: 元祖!浦安鉄筋家族 (Ganso! Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku)
English: Original! Reinforced Urayasu Family
Author: 浜岡賢次 HAMAOKA Kenji
Amazon: Japanese

Description:

Ohsawagi Kotetsu and friend Doitsu Jin, as well as all of their friends and family from Reinforced Urayasu Family are back for even more trouble in this sequel. Jin, Kotetsu, and the rest of the kids are moving into the 3rd grade, and they’ve got a new teacher who’s willing to beat them in line. Be prepared for some insane antics, fecal matter, fart jokes, fat kid battles, and much, much more zany fun.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

That being said, it is really hard to spoil a gag manga since there’s not a long continuous story where everything from the previous chapters matter. Which is one thing that I love about gag manga, and especially this one. You can start reading them at any given point in time and still have fun with the jokes. Granted it’s better if you read it from the beginning so you can get used to the characters, but that’s not really needed. Anyway, on to the review.

Artwork is kind of reminiscent of a highly detailed Beavis and Butthead comic. Not the most amazing art-style ever, but it does help that Hamaoka Kenji can draw well enough that the art helps the manga rather than hinders it. That being said, I actually kind of like the style Hamaoka uses here. It really fits the gag atmosphere of the whole manga and there’s also little surprises to be found in almost every single page. So it’s definitely encouraging to look at least a little more carefully at the backgrounds for a good laugh. Hell, if you could get some friends together you might even be able to make a drinking game out of it.

On top of the artwork being pretty decent, I find each of the jokes themselves quite amusing. Each chapter is about 12 pages long so things don’t get dragged out too long. There aren’t any double chapters with TO BE CONTINUED at the end so you’re guaranteed a good quick read with at the very least a giggle here and there, maybe your head in your hands, or a hurt stomach. The humor ranges from kind of topical to just outright wrong or disgusting, so there’s probably a little something for everybody in it.

Okay fine, most of it is kind of gross. But I still find a lot of it pretty damn funny.

My favorite character introduced in this first volume is definitely Ohsawagi Daitetsu, Kotetsu’s dad. In one of the chapters he crashes through his own family’s front gate with his taxi cab just because he’s in a hurry to take a piss. He’s also a ridiculously rabid smoker, smoking what looks like about 90 packs a day. Okay, that’s just exaggeration, but he does constantly have a cigarette in his hand and/or mouth. One of my favorite scenes from this volume is in the third thumbnail above where Daitetsu and his buddies are sitting around playing rock, paper, scissors, but doing it with smoke instead of their own hands.

Regardless, a lot of these jokes can probably be seen as really Japanese and as such, not as many Western readers will find them as funny. Kind of disappointing to me, as I am quite a big fan of this manga, but at least I can recognize that not everyone will love this.

My suggestion? Try a few chapters. If you find them remotely funny, keep reading. It just keeps getting better the more you read into the volume.

***/*****

(English versions thanks to Bakafish.)

Japanese: 邪眼は月輪に飛ぶ (Jagan ha Gachirin ni Tobu)
English: The Wicked Eye Flies to the New Moon
Author: 藤田和日郎 FUJITA Kazuhiro
Amazon: Japanese

Description:

The mountain gods have sent down a punishment to the people of Japan. An owl by the name of Minerva. All who fall under this owl’s gaze die, their eyes spurting out blood. One man stood up to the owl, a famous hunter by the name of Uhei, however just as he was about to loose the finishing bullet, he was interrupted by the American army taking the owl into their care for study.

Thirteen years later, an American warship crashes into a Tokyo harbor, and all the men on board are dead, their eyes bleeding. The owl has been freed, and it now rampages throughout Tokyo, killing at random and in mass amounts. The American government has decided that only Uhei can help them. So they send the Delta Force and CIA out to see just how the bird can be brought down…

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

The first thing I want to talk about in here is the art. So let’s get some examples up, shall we?

The art looks a little bit rough, but I think it really works for the series. The characters are all well drawn, the guns, the backgrounds, and our main character the owl all fit well together. None of the art ever threw me out of the story as out of place or anything of the sort. Even when there was a standard young girl being angry, Fujita didn’t fall into the trap of drawing shitty little chibi versions. Always a plus in my book.

The art aside, the main thing that drew me into this particular short was the main antagonist, a simple owl. It plays such an amazingly evil role in this series yet it doesn’t do anything more than what a normal owl would do behavior-wise. Well, aside from flying about during the day and killing everyone that it happens to look at. Just a normal owl. It doesn’t talk. It doesn’t have much of a personality. It’s just an owl. That alone is really a kind of refreshing villain to see in manga these days. Most of the time our villains will have speaking parts, thoughts, monologues, and personal reasons for doing what they do. The owl? He just flies around killing stuff while looking for a nest, a partner, and food. Just trying to survive like any other creature.

But with all of the destruction and human lives it takes, it must be brought down and destroyed. There’s a lot of depth to this little story and the characters, despite the short one volume length. Not all of the characters are as they seem, and a couple of them have their own stories to tell, so you learn to identify with them.

That’s all well and good, but seriously, if you want my opinion (and chances are you might if you’ve read this far already) I read this just for the owl. I mean, come on. That is the manliest freaking owl I have ever seen. You see guys like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star blowing people up with his fingers, or Victor Freeman from Blaster Knuckle knocking facing ridiculous monsters with just his fists and a shotgun strapped to the back of his hand, and you think, “Man, these guys are fucking manly.” But then this owl comes along and kills hundreds of thousands of people just from looking at them. Not to mention the ending of the story. I won’t ruin it for you, but let’s just say our owl friend one-ups Raoh.

In the end, I really, really enjoyed the story and everything about this manga, and would recommend it to anyone out there looking to spend an hour or two reading some fun violence with a pretty well-written story.

*****/*****

Japanese: ツレビト (Tsurebito)
English: Companion
Author: 吉富昭仁 YOSHITOMI Akihito
Amazon: Japanese

Description:

The story of Companion follows a high school girl, Mako, into the afterlife. To be more precise, the space between life and death. Mako finds that there’s more to being dead than simply going straight to heaven. There are people who must take you from death to the gate that leads to the afterlife. They are Companions.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

First off, I don’t have any scans of this volume to show off to you guys, so you’ll just have to take my word on it when I say Yoshitomi has some amazing double page spreads in this volume, much like he did in the previous one. Each of the six chapters in this volume has at least one extremely beautiful double page that just makes you stop and stare. Most of these pages have no dialogue or anything so it’ll make you stop and look at the picture. Yoshitomi is really good at just showing what’s going on through his artwork rather than telling you like a lot of the more popular artists. Sure he explains things here and there about the world, so not everyone’s perfect.

Speaking of the world, towards the end of the volume we learn that Companions are a lot like vultures. They wait at places where people die frequently like intersections and hospitals. Waiting for people to die so they can escort their souls to the other side. Some of them have formed small enclaves at hospitals, waiting their turn to take the next soul across. Most of them don’t even tell the souls that they can become a Companion, or that they have the option to stay inbetween worlds. It’s pretty heartless when you think about it. But then again, they’re dead and that’s the only way they can stay just where they are.

On to the topic of the story, I’ve found it quite enjoyable so far. Almost the entire volume is about the Wraith that Mako is supposed to escort that we were introduced to at the end of the first volume. Mako begins this volume with Aya telling her not to run away from the work she must do. But then her thoughts sort of deteriorate and we see her waking up in bed. Thinking that she dreamed the whole thing. So she goes through her everyday life and we’re introduced to a new character, a guy named Saburo who appears to be the neighborhood nice guy. Friends with all the kids because he hangs out and plays with them. He’s also an older brother of sorts to Mako.

Mako thinks she could be falling in love with him, but that’s when things start to go a little weird. Everything starts to flow weirdly behind Mako’s back, and we even see the Wraith a few times, once in a reflection where Saburo should be. The whole sequence of events plays out like a creepy, slow-moving horror movie. The good kind, of course. I’ll try not to spoil too much there, but I really enjoy the turn of events this sequence takes.

In the end, the second volume of Companion is just as enjoyable if not moreso than the first volume. I hope to read more of this series and highly recommend you guys give it a try. I’m personally translating this and Strays is scanlating it.

Rating: ****/*****

Japanese: ツレビト (Tsurebito)
English: Companion
Author: 吉富昭仁 YOSHITOMI Akihito
Amazon: Japanese

Description:

The story of Companion follows a high school girl, Mako, into the afterlife. To be more precise, the space between life and death. Mako finds that there’s more to being dead than simply going straight to heaven. There are people who must take you from death to the gate that leads to the afterlife. They are Companions.

Review:

This may contain spoilers, you have been warned.

What starts off as a simple enough looking school life manga quickly becomes a thought-provoking trip into just what happens after you die. Mako’s entire world is literally flipped around and ruined before her eyes as she learns to cope with her death. Yoshitomi’s amazing artwork and imaginative backgrounds and scenery help to show just how difficult it is for her to deal with the world of the dead.

Out of the chaos of this new world come a few Companions. An old man, Sendou. A young girl, Miyo. And the mysterious Ookumo Aya. All of these characters were once regular humans, but for their own personal reasons decided to stay and accompany souls to the afterlife rather than go themselves. This is the job of the Companion. A person cannot make it to the afterlife on their own, though animals can. A Companion must be there at the moment of their death to lead them to their own personal gate to the afterlife.

This volume reveals some really interesting revelations about the world and the rules of the interstice. I find it very interesting that the Companions are all practically the same as our main character and have their own personal reasons for staying there. I find myself definitely wanting to know more about their pasts and reasons for doing so.

The main storyline here is of course more interesting than the other character’s pasts, as it involves another kind of person. A Wraith. Wraiths are what you become if you don’t lead a soul to the other side within a certain amount of time. It looks to be the shell of what you once were, a person who no longer has the ability of conscious thought or speech. Which means your choices after you die are become a Companion and continually escort souls to the other side, go to the other side, or become a Wraith.

In order for Mako to become a Companion and stay in the interstice she has to first lead this Wraith to its gate. However, in following the Wraith she finds that it has been to a lot of the places she has been, and even seen herself in what I can only assume are the Wraith’s memories. It really makes you wonder just who it could be. The volume ends on a cliffhanger with Mako wondering the same thing.

One thing that I love about Companion is the lack of text. It gives me the feeling that Yoshitomi’s trying to show us more than tell us what’s happening. The lack of text also gives off a sort of eerie silence to the series, which gives some really nice ambience to the scenery and backgrounds. Yoshitomi has such a ridiculous attention to detail as well that you can just stare at his artwork and keep finding little touches he’s added everywhere.

All in all, a very enjoyable volume that will definitely leave you wanting more. This series is what made me a fan of Yoshitomi Akihito’s work, and why I’ll be continuing to update and review each volume of Companion and any of his one shots or other series as they come out or whenever I can get my hands on them.

Rating: ****/*****

(English versions thanks to Strays.)

I wrote a lot about what I hope this site will be in the About page found in the right hand menu, so, go there.

The short of it is, I’ll be posting reviews about generally unknown manga here on this blog to try to spread the word and see if I can’t get them some more attention. I’ll be hopefully posting daily updates for the first week or more to try to catch up to the series that I’ve already read, and then I’ll try to be on a more weekly schedule. I imagine the weekly posts will be nice and long, so prepare for that.

…

Whenever I make it to the weekly posts anyway.

I should be posting up my first review very soon here. Looking forward to hearing what people have to say about it.