Mangasplaining

So close and yet so far, the gorgeous idol singer Midori-kun lives next door to our hero, Melon-chan. But Melon is an adult video actress, and if Midori and Melon are seen together it could be disastrous for Midori's career! As the two grow closer, will Midori-kun remain... Untouchable? Deb leads the Mangang through a surprisingly fluffy josei romance this week on the podcast, in an episode that EVERYONE can enjoy... Except perhaps Chip!?

Read the show-notes and so much more at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our Newsletter and Publishing Endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com. 

This week on Mangasplaining we talk to one of the creators who's been making manga-influenced comics since the early 2000s, Abby Denson, and a creator whose recent work perfectly encapsulates a life spent soaking in Japanese popular culture, Matthew Loux. The kicker? They're married, too! They're also great boosters of each other's works, making them a great pair to interview.

Find out about what it's like to win an international manga award, getting outside of your comfort zones, and the reason why you should write your own book on travelling to Japan! Plus: We run one of Matt's comics this week at mangasplainingextra.com, go check it out!

Check out the show-notes and more at Mangasplaining.com.

Wait, is this episode MANHWAsplaining? It's true! Deb leads the team through their first ever Korean Webtoon, JH's The Boxer from Yen Press. What fascinating differences and similarities will the Mangang discern between this title and the previous 100+ manga they've read? And how does a unique vertical-scroll digital story translate to a printed edition? It's a big 'splaining episode, listen now!

Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com, or subscribe to our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com.

Out of the darkest corners of the internet crawls Popuko and Pipimi, the stars of the internet-based comedy manga sensation, turned nearly-inexplicable anime, POP TEAM EPIC. Will the jokes in this VERY 2014 brand of Japanese internet humour land with the Mangasplaining Crew? Will Chip FINALLY like an anime? Or is this whole episode a horrible idea? Only one way to find out: Press Play! 

Check out our show notes and reading list at mangasplaining.com (you can see some of the videos we talk about this episode) and our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com. 

One of the ‘big three’ from the most recent Golden Age of Shonen Jump Magazine, Bleach by Tite Kubo has a long and influential history with North American manga fans… But how will it hold up 20 years after its debut, and after the Mangasplaining crew have read so many other more recent shonen manga? Especially when they jump from volume 1 to 55, where the new Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War anime begins?

Read along with our show notes at mangasplaining.com and subscribe to our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com.

The Mangasplainers dig into a “Missed Connection” from a prior episode, as Deb hosts a rollicking discussion of My Love Story!! by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko! This shoujo manga turns a lot of the conventions of the genre on its head, but will that mean the crew enjoys it more… or LESS!? A very fun episode of the podcast awaits where you can find the answer to that and more! Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter and mangasplainingextra.com.

This week, Mangasplaining has its first official crossover episode with ANOTHER podcast, as Deb and Christopher interview the hosts of Pure Tokyoscope, Patrick Macias and Matt Alt! These esteemed gentlemen have long histories in North America’s manga and anime industries and boy, do they have stories to share. Besides talking about our manga "gateway drugs," this episode digs deep in the pop culture mines to bring you some real gems: manga, books, anime and more stuff that's worth reading and watching.

Read along with the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter at Mangasplainingextra.com.

David hosts this week, continuing his “Violence Hell!” series of manga picks for season 4 with BAKI, by Keisuke Itagaki! Will this hyper-violent treatise on masculinity hit with the crew, or is it going to be “Too Las Vegas” for some? What does ANY of that mean!? Listen to find out! And don't forget to check out our show-notes at Mangasplaining.com, and our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com!

This week the Mangasplaining team dive into one of the most infamous manga in fandom, Inio Asano’s Goodnight Pun Pun. Or Oyasumi PunPun, depending on where and when you read it. But Chip has a very unexpected reaction to the book that calls the Mangang to reconsider their memories of the series. First volume syndrome strikes again? Listen and find out (and read the show notes) at Mangasplaining.com! And check out our newsletter and publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com.

Slipping into your apartment to drink your precious hidden bottle of booze, the low-rent "Under Ninja" Kudo has his sights set hilariously low, and that might just be enough for the Mangasplaining crew to have a Very Good Time with this manga coming alllll the way out of left field. Plus check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

One of the great classic shojo manga is finally available in English, Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles, and the Mangasplaining team dig in to see if it lives up to the decades of hype! Will Chip like this better than his last foray into the [manga] classics? You'll have to listen to find out!

Check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

The Mangasplaining gang returns to a favorite josei manga from way back in the first season, Takako Shimura’s Even Though We’re Adults! But when the second volume goes in a different direction than the first, will the team still find themselves as passionate about the series as leads Ayano and Akari were in volume 1? Listen to find out! 

Don’t forget to check out our show notes at Mangasplaining.com, or our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com to have those notes delivered right to your inbox!

Welcome back to Mangasplaining, the podcast where we recommend manga to folks who haven’t read much manga before! We’re kicking off Season 4, aka episode 85, with the biggest manga out there right now, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man Vol. 1.  Will the Mangasplaininers, Deb, David, Chris, and Chip, love this title as much as they did the author’s LOOK BACK? Listen to find out! And hey, check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and the newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com. 

A great jumping-on point! The Mangasplainers pick their favorite books from Season 3, making recommendations of manga... For people who don't read much manga! Which titles will take home the coveted Triple Crown? Listen and find out! Show notes at Mangasplaining.com and sign up for our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

This week the Mangasplainers wrap up the third season of the podcast with their continuing look at Katsuhiro Otomo’s legendary manga series AKIRA. Will this be the volume that causes everyone to fall out of love with the series? No, obviously not, but it's a good discussion! Plus Q&A is back with two great questions! Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com, or subscribe to our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com.

It’s Business Time! We’re back with a new episode and a “new” manga, the dramatic day-in-the-life Division Chief Kosaku Chief. Only published in Japan in a bilingual edition designed to teach and reinforce English language learning among Japanese readers, we got our hands on this Japanese import and deep-dive into the world of Japanese businessmen in the 90s! Check out the show notes at mangasplaining.com, and our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com. 

This week Chip hosts his pick from our "Four First Chapters" special in Episode 75, the seinen parenting & food manga Sweetness & Lightning, by Gido Amagakure! But will this manga be a little TOO sweet for Chip's now-refined manga palette? Listen and find out!

Check out the show notes at mangasplaining.com, or subscribe to our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com.

SPAAAAAACE BROTHERS! It's the story of two young brothers who promise each other to join Japan's space program and journey to the moon, to Mars, and beyond! Except one of them just got fired from his job for headbutting his jerk boss. What will happen in this episodic dramedy of a manga series? And speaking of Dramedys, David takes the "joke" and makes it very real, as at 49:22 we do an episode of our new podcast M*A*S*H-SPLAINING! We all get together and talk about the 40 year-old television series M*A*S*H, and what it means to us. You never know what to expect on this podcast!

Check out the show notes at http://www.mangasplaining.com, and our newsletter and http://www.mangasplainingextra.com.

This week, Deb takes the Mangasplainers to a place that no one can go, the demolished Kowloon Walled City, in Jun Mayuzuki's Kowloon Generic Romance! A unique seinen manga from a mangaka that got her break in Shojo, the book both lives up to its title and surpasses it in ways that will surprise and delight! But what does Chip think!? Listen in to find out! And make sure to check out all the images in our show notes for this episode at Mangasplaining.com, and maybe sign up for our Newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com!

Every generation needs its coming-out story, and Gengoroh Tagame’s Our Colors is both groundbreaking and timeless. This week Christopher leads the crew through this autobiographically-informed title and many personal, hilarious, and even heartwarming stories are shared. Show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com. Plus, sign up for our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

This week on the podcast, David hosts a story about a young boy with immense psychic power, and the nefarious forces that want to control them. Wait, did we skip to the end of the season to do an episode on AKIRA? Nope, it’s the comedy manga MOB PSYCHO 100 by ONE, on Mangasplaining! Plus, in the Q&A, the team talk about the production differences between manga and superhero comics, and the discussion goes a different way than you might think…!

Read the show notes at http://www.mangasplaining.com, or subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.mangasplainingextra.com!

Is Chi just a cute little kitty, or a personification of the bittersweet memories of growing up and away from your innocence? Deb asks this, and the other Big Questions on this week's episode of Mangasplaining! Check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, or subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

FOUR FOR THE PRICE OF... NONE!? This week Christopher leads the Mangaskateers (?) through four different first-chapters from four different manga, all of which are free to read (legally) on the internet! Check out Chapter 1 of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma, Sweetness and Lightning, Kokkoku: Moment by Moment, and How Are You?. But which of these first-chapters will Chip crown the winner, and that we will read IN TOTAL next season? Find out in this very special episode of Mangasplaining!

Visit Mangasplaining.com for links to read these chapters, detailed show notes, and much more! And hey why not visit MangasplainingExtra.com for our newsletter?

Our third and final entry into witch-week ends with what might be the witchiest book of them all, Daisuke Igarashi’s WITCHES. Exploring different traditions of witches across a selection of magical realist stories, this is an ambitious book…but does its reach escape its grasp? The Mangasplainers will find out soon!

Then on our Comixology Manga Must-Reads section, we sip, swish, and spit Drops of God, by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto! Do the Mangasplaining team have refined enough palettes to enjoy all that this wine-tasting manga has to offer?

Read the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com, and don't miss our newsletter and publishing effort at MangasplainingExtra.com.

It's another Witchy Week on Mangasplaining, as David leads the crew through Ryu Mizunagi's Witchcraft Works! Will this silly harem comedy bewitch the Mangasplainers? And then, Chris leads the team through our bonus read, the classic josei manga Tramps Like Us... er.. You're My Pet, as it's now called, by Yayoi Ogawa. It's a big week for manga, and you're invited to listen along!

Check out the Mangasplaining reading list, show notes, and so much more at Mangasplaining.com. And don't forget to check out our newsletter and publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com.

Get ready for the witchiest month of them all, AUGUST, as we begin three weeks of Very Different books about Witches! We kick things off with the darling of the witchy world (and one of the bestselling manga in North America), Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier! Deb hosts and says this manga is good for EVERYONE, but will Chip and the gang disagree? Find out!

Plus: On our Comixology Manga Must-Read, we tackle the classic shojo manga MARS, by Fuyumi Soroyo. Will this beloved 90s shojo manga and troubled romance hit with the crew? 

Check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com and our newsletter and publishing effort at MangasplainingExtra.com.

This week the team 'reads' its first UNTRANSLATED manga, jumping into Season 3 of MOONLIGHT MILE by Yasuo Otagaki. Self-serialized by the author, this sci-fi action manga set on the moon creates a unique experience for the Mangasplainers, but will Chip dig it when he has to turn his head sideways to read the Google Translate text?

PLUS! On this week's Manga Must Reads, we check back in with Tsutomu Nihei's Knights of Sidonia for a somewhat-expanded look at another spacefaring sci-fi manga. An SF double-header this week on Mangasplaining!

Listen to the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, or check out our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

It's another double-header this week as the crew dives into one of the bestselling manga of 2020, My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi, and then travels back in time to enjoy the seinen manga classic Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro! Two great manga that grow and change significantly in the telling, with lots to explore this week on Mangasplaining!

Read the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter and manga publishing endeavour at mangsplainingextra.com.

This week the Mangasplaining Crew finally gets to one of David and Deb's fav fighting manga, Hiroki Endo's All-Rounder Meguru! In this unique episode, the team reads the first volume of the MMA manga, then skips to volume 7 to read a volume based on female fighters! Make sure not to tap-out of this one! Read the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com and check out our publishing effort at MangasplainingExtra.com.

This week the team takes a decidedly NSFW dive into the surprising world of gay manga, with the MASSIVE Anthology! How does it compare to BL? How does it compare to their 'regular' reads? How will they do the show notes for this one? Find out inside! Plus, in a bonus segment, the team dives into Koike & Kojima's epic samurai manga, Long Wolf & Cub! All this plus Q&A too! It's a MASSIVE episode in more ways than one!

Listen and check out the show notes at mangasplaining.com. Also don't forget to check out the newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com.

Deb continues to recommend her favorite shojo manga to the Mangasplainers, this week cheering-on Mika Yamamori's 'In The Clear Moonlit Dusk.' But will the arrow of this shojo manga's love pierce Chip's cold, cruel heart? Listen on to find out!

This week the team digs into a classic manga, Cross Game, by Mitsuru Adachi! This story has huge twist/reveal and they SPOIL IT, A LOT. It's not a spoiler to say that this (baseball!?) manga is EXCELLENT, so if you don't want it spoiled before you get a chance to read it, you can fast-forward to 1:10:15 and listen to the team's newest Blind Date, with To Strip The Flesh by Oto Toda! It's a jam-packed episode! Read along with the show-notes at mangasplaining.com, and don't miss our publishing endeavour at mangasplainingextra.com.

Darkness! No Parents! Continued Darkness! The Opposite of Light! Black Hole! All of these things await you... and much more... in Dorohedoro creator Q Hayashida's new manga Dai Dark Volume 1. But it turns out to be very different than some of the Mangasplainers expected, and the team ends up laughing their way through one of the funniest episodes yet.

Make sure to check out the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com, and don't forget to check out our publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com!

This week the team dives into their very first music manga, the Jazz odyssey Blue Giant, by Shinichi Ishizuka! They're also reading their first ever series where they don't start from the first volume, instead jumping up to volume five! Does it work, does any of it work? Listen on to find out in this episode of many firsts on Mangasplaining. Follow along with our show notes at mangasplaining.com or check out our publishing endeavor at mangasplainingextra.com.

This week, we dive back into a josei title, and it's by a noted boys love manga creator! It's all coming together in this week's All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga! But does this manga from the dark days of 2003 hold up to the rigors of life in 2022? Will Chip and the gang 'vibe' with what Yoshinaga is 'laying down'? Only one way to find out groovy people: get hip to this episode of Mangasplaining. Read the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com.

After the spicy romance of the last few weeks, we veer back into something a bit sweeter and funnier with My Love Mix-Up! But is this shojo manga romantic comedy with a hint of boys love be something that even Chip can enjoy? Then we have a special Mangasplaining: Listen to Me! chat with Samuel Sattin, the co-creator of Unico: Awakening with Japanese artistic team Gurihiru! It's a great big episode, and the show notes at Mangasplaining.com are pretty awesome too!

Are you ready to try your luck on Kakegurui? All it could cost you is millions of yen... or your fingernails? David guides the team through this smash-seinen manga pitting trust-fund-teens against one another in battles that cause embarrassment and ecstasy, skirting the line between schadenfreude and sadism! Place your bets on what Chip will think...! Follow along with the show notes and more at mangasplaining.com.

The book we've been threatening to cover for two seasons is finally here. You have arrived... At Dick Fight Island! This pinnacle of BL manga is the talk of the town, and now it's here in a very spicy, NSFW episode of Mangasplaining. Follow along with the show notes and more at mangasplaining.com.

“They’re reading a manga… about Ping Pong? But why? How good could it possibly be? Wait, did Chip say it might be his favourite new manga of all time? Chip said that, not Christopher, who’s deeply biased towards liking Taiyo Matsumoto’s work? Wow. Wow. Maybe I gotta listen to that episode after all.” Read the show notes at mangasplaining.com, and check out our publishing effort at mangasplainingextra.com.

It's about to steamy on Mangasplaining, as the crew travels to an unnamed tropical island to visit with 'The Birds of Shangri-la', a significantly steamier BL entry. In this NSFW episode, we learn the ins-and-outs of more explicit BL manga, talking about genre conventions and external censorship, love and lust, and projecting yourself into a narrative. A very good time is had by all. Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com.

Hello! And welcome BACK to Mangasplaining, as we begin "Season 3"! We're starting off with a bang, as David brings the crew 'violence comics' in the form of AJIN: Demi-Human Volumes 1 & 2. Horror and violence woven into discussions of the nature of humanity? Everyone's a bad guy? How will these dark ideas land with our innocent crew? Find out this episode!

Tired of "balanced" reviews pointing out strengths and weaknesses of a title? Just want to know what manga you should ACTUALLY read?! Well this week, the full Mangasplaining crew picks their "best manga for folks who haven't read much manga before" from the first season of Mangasplaining. These are the 11 titles that they recommend... With a few caveats and a hilarious discussion of each title, of course. Follow along with the Show Notes and more at Mangasplaining.com.

The team is still on a break (of sorts), but we’re also still making podcasts! This week, David interviews Jamila Rowser, the founder of Black Josei Press. This interview is one of our first looks at manga’s influence on North American independent comics! Plus Jamila loves Josei manga the most, so there’s a lot to dig into this interview! Read along with the show notes and more at mangasplaining.com.

The Mangasplaining Team's vacation continues, but we still keep bringing you new episodes! This week it's an interview with Spanish-Japanese manga-ka Ken Niimura, (co)creator of I Kill Giants, Henshin, Umami, and Never Open It! It's a fun look at what it takes to make manga! More info at mangasplaining.com.

Check it out, it's the special-edition, remastered, upgraded re-release with bonus material episode of Mangasplaining! As a special bonus week we bring you David Brothers' complete interview with Emma Ríos! They talk Gundam, a LOT, and comics and movies and life. It's a nice time, check it out!

It's the Season 2 Wrap-up episode! We reflect on the second 25 weeks of Mangasplaining, from A Drunken Dream to Wotaoki, and everything in between! No reading to catch up with, no spoilers (er, mostly), just a good chat with the crew. We return with weekly bonus Episodes on March 15th, and Season 3 officially starts on April 12th! More info at mangasplaining.com.

This week, we’re back to where it all began, as the gang luxuriates in the visual feast that is Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA Volume 3. We’re gonna spoil you up front this week: Chip calls it his favourite volume of comics of all time. FOR REALS. Find out why by listening to this episode…!

The Mangasplaining gang reads their very first BL Manga, Our Dining Table, by Mita Ori! Will it live up to the BL Hype!? Plus a Sponsored VIZ Blind Date with Deadpool: Samurai, Reader Q&A, and Shout outs! It's a great big episode! Read the show notes and more at mangasplaining.com. 

This week on Mangasplaining, Deb leads the crew through a book that sort of sums up some of the themes of Season 2, with an autobiographically-informed piece of art about art, and a story that's very similar to another title we talked about in a previous episode. Tsubasa Yamaguchi's hit manga Blue Period gives the team a lot to talk about! Plus, we launched a publisher! Full details at Mangasplaining.com!

This week on Mangasplaining David leads the group into our first small-press short-story, Minami Q-Ta’s The Blood Red Boy. We take a deep, deep dive into this story, and while we’d love it if you read ALL the books we cover on the podcast, since this one is just $2 (or less!) you’ll probably wanna give this one a read before listening to this spoiler-filled episode. Plus: A Q&A special, where we answer questions from you, the listeners!

ALSO: Please consider checking out our new publishing endeavour, Mangasplaining Extra! Details at http://www.mangasplainingextra.com.  

The Mangasplaining crew wrap up their "Classic Manga" arc, by going back to the most influential Japanese superhero comic of all time, Kamen Rider, by Shotaro Ishinomori! Straight from 1971, this manga adapted from a tv series adapted from a manga has echoed through generations, but how does this original manga hold up in the cold, hard light of 2022? Listen and find out! Plus: A special Manga Blind Date, with the over-the-top battle manga Record of Ragnarok vol. 1 & 2! Sponsored by VIZ Media! Check out all the details at mangasplaining.com.

This Episode:

00:00: Kamen Rider Classic Collection, by Shotaro Ishinomori

1:10:50: Manga Blind Date! Record of Ragnarok, by Takumi Fukumi, Azychika, and Shinya Umemura

1:22:45: Shout-Outs: Lost In Space, Righteous Gemstones, Generous Bosom, Blue Giant

This week the gang talks about Studio Ghibli big-boss Hayao Miyazaki, and his classic 1982 manga Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind! A bonafide among bonafides, but does this manga meet Chip & the gang's strict desires for classic manga? And is it really even manga at all? Find out this episode! PLUS: Will there be a NorthAmericanComicsplaining? And have you checked out the extensive show notes at Mangasplaining.com?!

Keeping up with your new year's resolutions? Akira resolved to save all of humanity by combining with the power of the Devil to become DEVILMAN, in one of the wildest manga the Mangasplainers have ever read. Something to shoot for, for next year's resolution, eh? Plus a reader Q&A about 'indy' manga! Find out much more at mangasplaining.com. 

A very special episode as the Mangasplaining team splits up to cover more ground, with Chip and Christopher interviewing manga translator Jocelyne Allen, live and in person at a bar in Toronto, and Deb and David get exclusive info on Vinland Saga from Manga Editor Ben Applegate. It’s an all-new, all-different episode! Welcome to 2022! Show notes and more at mangasplaining.com.

Get ready for a rollicking deep dive into the Gundam universe with Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. It's often described as "Japan's answer to Star Wars," but as the Mangasplaining Gang learns this episode, it's so much more, too! Includes an interview with comic maker Emma Rios about Gundam! Don't miss the extended show notes at mangasplaining.com either!

This week the Mangasplainers challenge the very notion that Love is Hard for an Otaku, by reading a book on that very subject! Fujita's 'Wotakoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku' is a treatise on modern dating, but will DECIDEDLY NOT AN OTAKU Chip Zdarsky be able to relate? Find out in this episode! More at mangasplaining.com

INDEX:

00:00: Wotakoi Vol 1

1:10:48: The Break!

1:12:00: Picking new books! Indy, Shonen, and... BL?!

Get ready to get rugged, as the Mangasplaining team heads north... and back in time!... to the colonization of Hokkaido, Japan at the end of the 1800s with GOLDEN KAMUY! It's Satoru Noda's historical, informational, action-filled, occasionally homoerotic, EPIC manga, and we dive in this week! More at Mangasplaining.com

In this Episode:

00:00: Golden Kamuy

52:30: The Break

53:00: Reader Q&A: What is our opinion on translating Japanese honorifics?

1:02:40: Shout-outs

VIKINGS! Renowned for their pillaging, conquest, and... really great art? Deb leads the team through the one-and-only Viking manga being published today, and it's not quite what anyone expected... In a good way! This week on Mangasplaining, we start the Vinland Saga... come along for the journey! More at Mangasplaining.com.

This week the team tackles Look Back, by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto. It's a huge departure from his previous works, and the team takes their time to unpack a very delicate story. Show notes and more at mangasplaining.com

In This Episode:

00:00: Look Back, by Tatsuki Fujimoto

1:02:10: The Break

1:03:00: Reader Q&A: How come so many manga-ka are writer-artists?

In this very spicy episode (listen with your earbuds in), David leads the team through superhero sex comedy RaW Hero! Trash cinema splashed on the manga page, how will the team react to a very 'ecchi' series? Visit mangasplaining.com for show notes and more!

In this Episode: 

00:00: RaW Hero Vol 1, by Akira Hiramoto

54:54: THE BREAK!

55:20: Q&A: Do manga creators get influenced by Western comics creators?

1:09:00: Shout-outs!

This week on Mangasplaining, Christopher leads the team through the classic shojo manga collection A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, by Moto Hagio, published by Fantagraphics. It's a very special book, and leads to a BIG jumping off point to talk about classic manga in general! Follow along at Mangasplaining.com

INDEX:

00:00: A Drunken Dream

1:06:36: The Break!

1:08:13: Choosing new books! Let's do EVEN MORE Classic Manga!

Deb leads the crew through Shonen Jump's Hot New Title, DanDaDan, by Yukinobu Tatsu. This is a spicy manga, and it makes for a very spicy episode! It's not for the kiddos, but does that automatically make it perfect for Chip? Show notes and more info at mangasplaining.com. 

The Mangasplaining Gang return to that most beloved of genres, comedy, to enjoy Keiichi Arawi's CITY. Wait, they do enjoy it, don't they? Listen onwards to find out! Show notes at Mangasplaining.com.

THIS EPISODE:

00:00: Keiichi Arawi's CITY

45:51: THE BREAK

46:00: Mangasplaining Listen To Me! David talks to artist Nick Dragotta about the work of Tsutomu Nihei.

1:01:57: THE SECOND BREAK

1:02:00: Picking new books! Seinen Action, Seinen Romance, and a Shonen Manga Classic!

We return for a Chip Double-Dip on Kaori Tsurutani's BL METAMORPHOSIS, as we finish the series with volumes 3, 4, and 5. Sure, we liked it, but HOW did we like it, and WHY? Listen on and find out. Follow along with show notes at Mangasplaining.com.

In this episode:

00:00: BL Metamorphosis Volume 3, 4, & 5

56:07: The Break!

56:30: Host Q&A: Is there a Japanese version of the Comics Code Authority?

1:14:00: Shout Outs! Dua Lipa, Shojo Manga, The Sopranos, and a question for the audience!

Romance, Advice Columns, Mean Pub Food Hallucinations? It must be Akiko Higashimura's masterwork Tokyo Tarareba Girls! Chip and the gang dig into this Eisner Award-winning Josei manga, and get in their feelings about romance, dating, and loving... yourself. <3

It's a surprisingly spooky episode to kick off October, as Deb brings the Mangang into the twisted world of Shuzo Oshimi with 'Blood on the Tracks'. Plus a special 'Mangasplaining: Listen To Me' segment with Ed Chavez of Denpa Inc., the English-language commissioning Editor of Oshimi-sensei!

All of the Mangasplainers loved this week’s pick, Akiko Higashimura’s Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey. It actually led to the crew sharing their own experiences with art, school, and even occasionally art-school. A great, chatty episode that you'll totally love even if you haven't read the book yet (but you totally should!).

A doozy of an episode! We talk about Panpanya’s An Invitation from a Crab, our first ‘alternative’ manga on the podcast. Then Christopher interviews Ko Ransom, the translator for this comic in a new “Mangasplaining: Listen to Me!” segment. Finally, we get a question about overwork in the manga industry that goes to some very personal places...

A change of format for this week’s episode, as David takes the reins and introduces Chip and the gang to the wide world of Tsutomu Nihei, with a special focus on his newest series APOSIMZ! We read a little bit of his entire catalogue this episode, and see how an author changes and grows over the decades! Plus! We have another #sponsored Manga Blind Date courtesy of our friends at VIZ Media! Head over to http://bit.ly/MaoPodcast and check out a preview of Mao Volume 1 by Rumiko Takahashi, and skip to 1:14:10 to hear us talk about this new manga by the master! Don’t miss this very exciting special episode.

This week we take a dip back into the Shonen Jump mines with one of its newest and most unexpected hit series', Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo. We all read the same book this week, so that's better than last time. But did we all read it... the same way? Not a sponsored episode, but you may not believe us.

THIS EPISODE:

00:01: Spy X Family, by Tatsuya Endo

52:30: Reader Q&A: Reading Serialized Manga

1:07:45: Shout Outs

Welcome back to Mangasplaining for Season Two! This episode we read Osamu Tezuka's classic Phoenix, despite Chip's best efforts, and enjoy a bonus bit of #sponsored reading thanks to VIZ Media providing us with Junji Ito's Sensor.

THIS EPISODE:

00:00: Welcome Back & Introductions

05:00: Phoenix: Dawn and Phoenix: Future, by Osamu Tezuka

1:04:00: Sensor, by Junji Ito

1:15:20: Reader Q&A: How do you pare down your manga collection?

1:28:00: Shout-outs! Darker than Blue, Kageki Shoujo, No.5, Best & Worst Manga 2021.

Show notes, images, and much more at https://www.mangasplaining.com.

The Mangasplaining team successfully completed 25 weekly episodes! Hooray! Here we take a look back at the manga we covered, the discussions we had, and the lessons we learned along the way. Best of all, you can just listen without having to read a manga first! More at http://www.mangasplaining.com/

As we wrap up Season 1 of Mangasplaining, we return to where we started, with the second volume of Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic manga creation, AKIRA. AKIRA Vol. 2 is a great manga that acts as a jumping-off point for a wide ranging talk on printing and publishing, assistants, and art vs. commerce. It’s a very big episode, we hope you enjoy it!

It's our second two-fer episode! First up, David leads the gang through the ero-guro-comedy Franken Fran by Katsuhisa Kigitsu! Then after the break at 45:00, the team checks out #sponsored read Zom 100 by Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata. It's a very creepy, crawly, and occasionally unsettling episode! Listener beware!

It's an incredibly wholesome and sweet episode this week, as the gang read a heartwarming tale of a May/December friendship, based on somewhat unwholesome manga! Yup, we're talking about BL and yaoi, thanks to the 'gateway' manga BL Metamorphosis, by Kaori Tsurutani. Spoilers: It's really, really good.

In one of our longest episodes yet, the crew tackles the emotionally-charged A Journal of My Father by Jiro Taniguchi. It's a great discussion with some real talk and real feelings... on a manga podcast that loves to crack jokes! What're we doing? We're reading great manga, that's what.

This week the Mangasplaining gang tackle the wacky world of... Modern Day Tokyo? It's 'Saint Young Men,' which features The Buddha and Jesus as roommates in a cramped Tokyo apartment. Does it deliver on the hilarious high-concept? Only one way to find out! Please note that this issue does deal with religion, which may be a sensitive subject. For more information please visit mangasplaining.com. 

This week the gang reads Kaoru Mori's beloved historical fiction manga A Bride's Story. Deb picks and hosts, wanting to give a little gift of great manga to Chip. But will he accept it? Listen on to find out! Follow the show notes for images and insights at mangasplaining.com.

It’s a very big week for the Mangasplaining crew, as we tackle our first AND second “official” shojo manga releases... And they couldn’t be more different! Get ready for the teen fantasy adventure series Yona of the Dawn and the dangerous and sexy adult romance of Yakuza Lover on this episode! #sponsored

A manga... about making MANGA? Will this recursive bit of shoujo comedy delight or dismay Chip Zdarsky and the Mangasplaining gang? Only one way to find out...! Plus the team gives their picks for the manga gems that they wish would come back into print!

Mangasplainer Chip Zdarsky wanted to read something aimed at a grown-up audience this week, after a few weeks of reading about teens and their problems. So this episode we jump into Takako Shimura's down-to-earth, complex, and beautifully illustrated LGBTQ romance story 'Even Though We're Adults!' Will it be just what the doctor ordered? Spoilers: Yes. It's very good.

This episode marks a very strange week indeed, as the Mangasplainers dive into the nonsensical erotic grotesquery of Edogawa Rampo and Suehiro Maruo's The Strange Tale of Panorama Island! It's a doozy of a manga, based on a wild 1920s Japanese novella, and the show notes are jam packed with art and explanations! However, as exciting as it is, this episode (and show notes!) are recommended for listeners 18+ only.

The Mangasplaining Crew take on "The World's Most Popular Manga", er, of the 2000s anyway, with Masashi Kishimoto's NARUTO VOL 1! Is Naruto better comics than The Spider-Man? The Bat-Man? Listen and find out! Plus, in a special segment about kids manga, we welcome our very first guest! So get ready to find out all about Boruto's dad and so much more in this very big episode!

Fashion. Glamour. Sex. Highschool? Manga-ka Ai Yazawa takes on turn-of-the-millennium fashion culture in PARADISE KISS, recently re-released in a spiffy all-in-one edition! The Mangasplaining crew digs into this beloved series and comes out with some very, very strong opinions. “The first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second duty is, no one has yet found out.” Get ready!

The hit anime series BEASTARS sprung from the pages of this manga, and the similarities and differences are substantial! The Mangasplaining team are divided on this unique manga, but will reading multiple volumes change our perspective... OR YOURS?

Three months in and Chip Zdarsky is starting to ask the big questions! What is a Japanese novel? What even is manga, anyway? Luckily we balance out the serious stuff with a big helping of delicious food chatter as we discuss the king of all food manga, Oishinbo! Then we work off those calories with a deep dive into sports manga, too! Grab a snack and settle in to this feast of an episode. 

The international smash-sensation FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST is the subject this week on Mangasplaining? How can a universally beloved series be anything but universally beloved? Well you're about to find out...

Perhaps our most-anticipated episode! TekkonKinkreet is a manga that's had a powerful effect on many readers and comic creators, including this week's host Christopher. Will Chip Zdarsky like the book? Will him disliking it form a rift that tears the podcast asunder? Probably not, but Deb, David, Christopher and Chip dig into this very widely-loved manga, with some interesting behind-the-scenes stories!

Lots of firsts this episode, as the Mangasplaining gang read their first complete series, their first digtal-only series, and we get the first hints that manga just might be breaking poor Chip's brain! It's all here in this discussion of the sci-fi epic 7 Billion Needles!

Sure, the anime adaptation of the absolutely hilarious Yakuza-comedy Way of the Househusband makes its anime debut on Netflix later this week, but wouldn't you like to be like us? The people who read the manga first, so you can also say that you were into it BEFORE it was popular? Well when it's this funny and well done, chances are... you do! The most surprising episode of Mangasplaining yet!

It's the adorable green-haired (maybe) moppet that everyone adores--Yotsuba! But is there a dark undercurrent to this manga that Chip and the gang will discover...? No, no there is not, thankfully, but that doesn't mean there aren't similar books out there to avoid. Give this a close listen, learn to love Yotsuba through this review of Yotsuba Vol 1, and enjoy our two (2!) new manga segments!

What if your bar-stool complaining about your love life made it to air, and became a hit radio show? Would that make for a great manga? Find out what the gang thinks of Wave, Listen To Me! this episode!

What if your favourite fonts were actually cute manga characters? You'd have the new manga 'What The Font?!'! But the question is, what will writer, artist, and designer Chip Zdarsky think about manga that steps onto his turf? 

Look out! Helter Skelter is a groundbreaking Josei manga that looks at the dark side of the beauty industrial complex, and it's just as timely today as when it was created more than 25 years ago! A very intense episode recommended for adult listeners.

This week we tackle the work of the legendary manga creator Rumiko Takahashi, author of series including Inu Yasha, RIN, Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and even more! We delve into her horror series, Mermaid Saga, with these fancy new re-releases from VIZ Media. What will Chip think of this one...?

It's time for the second episode of MANGASPLAINING! In this episode Chip is introduced to action and food manga Delicious in Dungeon, by Ryoko Kui. Does he like it? Deb, Christopher, and this week's host David, will find out! Thanks to D.A.D.S. for the music and support your local comic and manga shop, visit comicshoplocator.com. Show notes and more at mangasplaining.com.

This is it, the first complete manga that Chip Zdarsky has ever read: AKIRA Volume 1! What did he think? And what will show hosts Deb Aoki, David Brothers, and Christopher Butcher have to say about his opinion? And what will the NEXT book we make him read be? Check it out! Music by D.A.D.S. Full show notes at mangasplaining.com. Support your local comic and manga specialty shop, visit comicshoplocator.com.

Welcome to Mangasplaining, the manga podcast! In this first episode you’ll get to know the team including Deb Aoki, David Brothers, Christopher Butcher, and Chip Zdarsky. We’ll also talk about the dark secret of the podcast… getting Chip to read manga, and hopefully you read along with him! Music by D.A.D.S. Check out the show notes at mangasplaining.com. Support your local comic and manga specialty shop, visit comicshoplocator.com.