Manga Mavericks

A cute BL manga with an old-school rom-com feel? You just know we had to "go for it!" That’s right, just in time to commemorate the 5th anniversary of its conclusion and the recent release of its sequel, we recorded a retrospective of Syundei's retro-feeling BL rom-com Go For It, Nakamura with freelance writer extraordinaire Anthony Gramuglia! Touted for being a comfy and queer throwback to 80s manga romcoms, we discuss the thoughtfulness and sincerity of Nakamura’s depictions of queer sexuality, making connections and forming relationships with other people, and being unafraid to be yourself. There’s a lot of nuance and depth to how Nakamura depicts and reflects on exploring queer identity through the consumption and creations of art, so don’t judge a book just by it’s cover memes! Nakamura is a story about being unafraid to vocalize your desires and express who you are, and we certainly don’t shy away from relating how resonant this series was for us, though maybe Lum reveals a little too much about ho

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum check in on the latest batch of simulpubs and one shots! First they talk about the newest one shot doujinshi by Isaki Uta from Irodori Comics with Silkscreen, which once again explores more bittersweet romance between two characters, as well as identity and how sometimes people only see what they want to see. Afterwards, they cover the newest series from Shonen Jump, including Hunter's Guild: Red Hood, a stylishly beautiful Grimms' Fairy Tale inspired story from former assistant to My Hero Academia's Kohei Horikoshi, Yiuki Kawagushi! As well as Neru: Way of the Martial Artists from Minya Hiraga, a story about a young teenager so obsessed with learning martial arts that he ends up going to a school all about teaching different styles of it! Lastly we discuss the newest installment of Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki's One Piece spin-off, Shokugeki no Sanji, as well as Chainsaw Man creator, Tatsuki Fujimoto's heart-breakingly beautiful one shot, Look Back! We ha

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum once again catch up on the latest batch of news! Including some new manga services that have popped up recently, Homura Kawamoto's newest isekai parody manga that was cancelled after the first chapter, more news on the latest Dragon Ball movie, and a whole ton of new licenses like usual, along with how well manga sales are doing in North America! SPOILER: They're doing AMAZING (despite supply chain issues)!!. All this and more on this latest episode! Enjoy! For a complete list of links and shout-outs included in this episode, check out this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2021/manga-mavericks-ep-168-august-2021-news-roundup/ PODCAST BREAKDOWN: 00:00 - RIP Philence Sampler 03:31 - Intro 08:31 - NYT Graphic Books & Manga List for July 2021 11:43 - June 2021 Bookscan List 20:45 - New Manga Apps/Sites 34:41 - Kawamoto’s Cheat Slayer manga canceled after one chapter 39:47 - A bunch of Shonen Sunday series end all at once 42:22 - Ashidaka

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum enlist the help of some local biker goons, like All-Comic contributor, Nick Rowe, cosplay extraordinaire, Diana & host of the Blade Licking Thieves podcast himself, Grant, in order to discuss Buronson & Tetsuo Hara's classic Fist of the North Star! In which after a nuclear apocalypse in 199x, the strong now pick on the weak as society as we know it has collapsed, but only one Bruce Lee-like figure with a sleeveless denim jacket can protect them and that's Kenshiro, master of the (literally) mind-blowing martial art known as Hokuto Shinken! As soon as Viz Media announced last year that they would be bringing this series over, we just knew we had to talk about it! If you're new to Fist of the North Star, then this podcast is for you, as we stick to mainly discussing Volume 1 in particular and why we think its such a great start to the series! We also discuss why the series is so beloved and influential even almost 30 years after its debut in Weekly Sh

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum invite back on friend of the show and founder of the Weekly Shogakukan Edition blog and Twitter, Sakaki, as well as first time guest and Manga Youtuber extraordinaire, Zach "UchuuShelf", to discuss Ken Wakui's Tokyo Revengers! A series involving both intense delinquent battles and time travel, as our protagonist, Takemichi, has to go back in time to ensure that his old girlfriend from middle school isn't killed in the present, and to do that, he has to become a member of the Tokyo Manji gang! This series in particular has so many twists and turns that we even had section off a portion of the podcast dedicated to freaking over the crazy, insane stuff that happens all throughout! But even before all of that, we spend a lot of time both praising the series for its strong, resonant writing, while also lamenting on the treatment of some of its female characters as a way to get to most of those moments. Join us as we talk about one of the best selling manga of th

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, while Lum is away, Colton enlists good friend of the podcast and founder of Weekly Shogakukan Edition, Sakaki, to help cover the usual batch of news from the past month! While they cover the usual serialization, licensing and industry news, they also discuss topics such as Gege Akutami's hiatus from Jujutsu Kaisen and the conversation around overwork in the manga industry, as well as George Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga finally being made available digitally in Japan and all the other possible titles that could be also be made available in the future! So join us as Colton once again catches Sakaki up on all the cool new manga news! Enjoy! For a complete list of links and shout-outs included in this episode, check out this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2021/manga-mavericks-ep-165-july-2021-news-roundup/ PODCAST BREAKDOWN: 00:00 - Intro 07:10 - NYT Graphic Books & Manga List for June 2021 09:57 - New Shonen Jump series 15:44 - Hard Boiled Cop & Do

I think our guest is a translator! Oh, who am I kidding? You already know he is! Leo McDonagh is a multimedia translator who's worked on innumerable projects, including two incredible standout queer manga, Okura’s heartwarming I Think Our Son is Gay and Keito Gaku’s empowering Boys Run the Riot! It’s a rare occasion that two remarkable and resonant queer manga such as these both come out within weeks of each other, much less sharing the same translator, and we really wanted to celebrate the occasion by spotlighting these works and getting Leo’s intimate insights on them! Leo shares his career journey as a translator, and his perspective on both series as their translator and as a gay transman who can appreciate and relate with both series in different ways. We talk in-depth about how both works explore and speak to real-world struggles queer youth face with optimism and encouragement, defying heteronormative social structures with community and validation, and how resonant and important these messages are

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum once again invite futekiya editor-in-chief, Emma Hanashiro, onto the show, this time to read and discuss some of the titles available on the service! To start off, we discuss Hard Biscuits, a one shot from Iwasawa Midori about cars and guy searching for a good mechanic that can help him fix up and sell used cars. Afterwards, we discuss While Being Seen off by Campanella, a single volume work from Kyoyama Atsuki that is an introspective character study about a man learning to open up to people again while recovering from a particularly bad break up. Last, but certainly not least, is Yuki & Matsu from Takahashi Hidebu! A very steamy and passionate three volume series set in feudal era Japan about a lost ronin and a local village doctor who find each other and end up forming a lifelong partnership. Join us as we cover a varied selection of titles and barely scratch the surface of what futekiya has to offer! For a complete list of links and Community Shout

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum once again catch up on some news! Including the usual serialization news, some industry stuff, a bunch of cool anime and popularity poll news, and so many licenses that they had to pick a select few talk about, but they're all great nonetheless!! Even after all the news, they still take the time to talk about the first chapter of Choujin X, the newest series from Tokyo Ghoul creator, Sui Ishida, and boy was it a first chapter!! This episode of the podcast is dedicated to the passing of Shunsuke Kikuchi, Akira Ito, and Kentaro Miura. Thank you for everything you've given us, and rest in peace. For a complete list of links and Community Shout-Outs included in this episode, please visit this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2021/manga-mavericks-ep-162-june-2021-news-simulpub-roundup/ PODCAST BREAKDOWN:  00:00 - RIP Shunsuke Kikuchi, Akira Ito & Kentaro Miura 12:40 - Intro 14:26 - New Manga from Chie Shinkyu 16:11 - Homura Kawamoto 17:24 -

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum bring on yuri scholar and founder of Okazu, Erica Friedman, to discuss My Solo Exchange Diary! A two volume autobiographical manga from Nagata Kabi that is also a follow up to her previously released My Lesbian Experiece With Loneliness, which we also covered on the podcast back in 2017! We have a very open discussion about how the success of Kabi's works in the west have made it possible for other autobiographical manga to be picked up, as well as how that success has contributed to Kabi's life and work both positively and negatively. This discussion was originally posted exclusively on our Patreon a year ago, which we decided to make available publicly not only to give listeners a peek at what we have to offer for potential patrons, but to also celebrate the release of Nagata Kabi's latest work, My Alcoholic Escape From Reality, of which we will also be releasing a podcast about on our Patreon at the end of this month! So if you enjoyed this discussion,

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum finally get around to dedicating a whole episode of the podcast to Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer, otherwise known as the highest selling manga title of last year! And of course, who better to have on to discuss this momentous series then our friends from the Demon Slayer Podcast (Vlord, Marion & Sakaki)! Demon Slayer is a series that was just too big for the Mavericks crew to ignore, not just because we've constantly been covering its rise to fame, but also because we covered the first few chapters when they initially premiered as apart of Shonen Jump's Jump Start initiative all the way back in 2016 on our third episode of the podcast! We discuss just why its become so popular and how the story's poignant themes and messages have managed to capture the hearts of readers around the world and especially Japan, as well as our feelings on the final arc of the series and how much of an exciting and emotional roller coaster it was despite a few criticisms o

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum invite on Eisner Award winning comics artist and author of Mermin & Ghost Hog, Joey Weiser, to talk about Tatsunoko Productions founder Tatsuo Yoshida's original Mach GoGoGo (Speed Racer) manga and some of the influence it had on Joey's newest upcoming comic, Dragon Racer! That's right! We cover two whole racing comics and discuss everything we love about them both, as well as reflect on Speed Racer's legacy and ponder over the state of its current relevancy in American pop culture even compared to two decades ago. So join us as we rev up our engines and jam down on the pedal like we're never comin' back, cause adventure's waitin' just ahead!! If you want more Speed Racer talk, sign up for our Patreon (patreon.com/mangamavericks) at the end of the this month to listen to a special bonus podcast where we talk about the 2008 live action movie from the Wachowskis with special guest, Sam Leach, from the One Piece Podcast!   For a complete list of links an

Everybody needs a thrill, and we all got a space to fill... on our manga shelf! We're excited to spotlight one of the new rising stars of the indie manga publishing world determined to pluck some overlooked manga ripe for the licensing picking, Star Fruit Books! We interview Star Fruits' founder Matt Haasch about the origins of the publisher, their mission statement, and how they've worked with independent creators to share their stories with a wider audience! What's more, we're also discussing one of the fruits of their labor, talking about a series that'll put a pop in your step and really puts the "pop" in pop art - Pop Life by Minami Qta! We had the time of our lives reading this wonderful series focusing on two mothers raising their children together in a shared household, grappling with feelings of loneliness and community, growing up and growing apart, and many more compelling themes about making the most out of your life! If you enjoy our discussion of Pop Life and become eager for a chance to read

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, its time once again to cover the newest series from Shonen Jump, but this time with a special guest! We talk about the first few chapters of Blue Box by Kouji Miura & Candy Flurry by Ippon Takegushi and Santa Mitarashi with founder of the Weekly Shogakukan Edition blog and Twitter, Sakaki (@kiirobon)! Even though Sakaki also secretly came on the show to promote the gospel of RYOKO and the rest of Shonen Sunday, he also asked to join us specifically to talk about these two new series, so you KNOW these have to be good!! We also discuss our usual round of monthly news, including Chainsaw dominating in manga sales on the latest Bookscan list, Funimation licensing the entire Prince of Tennis franchise, and last but certainly not least, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train's (continuous) runaway success at the North American box office in its first weekend! Enjoy yet another episode of the podcast thats as packed as the tastiest cream puff! For a complete list of links and Community S

A manga about an agricultural school? In Hiromu Arakawa’s hands, you can bet the farm we’ll be singing its praises ‘till the cows come home! Just in time for its 10th anniversary, we’re doing a retrospective on Hiromu Arakawa’s Silver Spoon, a story about a studious city boy who moves to a country farm school and beefs up to bring home the bacon! Fellow Silver Spoon fans Buggy and Kelly help us put our hands to the plow as we go whole hog on the series’ meaty themes of community and interdependence and gush over Arakawa’s hog-wild art! Plus, straight from the horse’s mouth, Buggy shares his personal experiences growing up on a farm in the midwest and visiting Hokkaido, and how he can relate to Arakawa’s detailed depictions of the agriculture industry! We also horse around with some silly tangents about the characters and the food, and what makes them so good! There's a lot to digest, so let's make hay while the sun shines and chew over why this series makes us as happy as a pig in mud! For a complete list

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, its once again time for our annual Best of Manga podcast!! Colton & Lum look back on some of their favorite moments from not just the series they read but the industry as well (you know, like the slogan?). Join them as they talk about ton of different series such as My Hero Academia, My Broken Mariko, Undead Unluck and so much more! We even introduce a few new categories this time around covering our favorite artistic moments and different attacks/techniques! 2020 may have been quite the bad year overall, but we can definitely say it was an all around great year for manga especially! Enjoy For a complete list of links & Community Shout-Outs mentioned in this episode, visit this podcast's webpage at: http://all-comic.com/2021/manga-mavericks-ep-155-best-of-manga-2020/ PODCAST BREAKDOWN:  00:00 - Intro 03:26 - Patron Shout-out! 06:26 - Best of Manga 2020: 07:28 - Favorite/Most Important Manga News Stories of 2020 20:23 - Favorite New North American Manga Licens

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, its once again time to cover more manga news, as Colton & Lum go over the usual new serializations, sales lists, licenses, and even anime news!! Some of our biggest pieces of news include the end of Attack on Titan and the beginning of the end of My Hero Academia, as well big licenses from Denpa and Discotek Media, and even the long awaited news of a release date for the North American theatrical debut of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train! And just when we thought we were done covering news the first time, we had to add even more before we round out the show! Join us next time as we go over our favorite series, releases, etc from the past year in our annual Best of Manga episode!! Subscribe to our Patreon at $3 or more to get an exclusive sneak peek at the first few episodes of Colton and Sakaki's newest podcast: Another Day, Another Adventure! A podcast dedicated to covering every Dragon Ball cartoon ever! Including every tv anime, movie, special, you name it! For a complete

We can't stay silent any longer! We're screaming out our love for A Silent Voice all the way to the moon! Special guests and big friends Vix, Marco Oliveros, and Kory Cerjack join us for a special retrospective of Yoshitoki Oima's heart-wrenching and heartfelt coming of age story! Vix and Marco share their perspectives as teachers based in Japan to discuss how accurately the series depicts bullying culture in Japanese classrooms and the systemic issues that perpetuate it. Vix and Kory also share insights into the challenges faced by students with disabilities, and how ill-equipped a lot of teachers and public schools are to accommodate them. Plus, Kory and Colton reflect on revisiting the series after previously podcasting about it five years ago, and how their thoughts on it have changed or matured since then. We also dig into the series' themes of growth and change, how well it depicts depression and disabilities, and our complicated thoughts on these complicated characters! There's a lot to explore, so t

On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum catch up on some news, and more importantly, finally get to the newest simulpubs from Shonen Jump and a few other services! First they cover futekiya's first ever simulpub with Pink Heart Jam by Shikke, along with Don't Blush, Sekime-san! from Shigure Tokita on Manga Plus! They also cover some special chapters with the newest chapter of Shokugeki no Sanji from Food Wars duo, Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki, as well as the newly drawn pilot chapter of The Promised Neverland from Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu entitled, We Were Born! After all that is said and done, we cover the newest round of new Shonen Jump titles, starting with the return of two veteran authors with The Elusive Samurai from Yusei Matsui (Assassination Classroom & Neuro) and Witch Watch from Kenta Shinohara (SKET Dance & Astra Lost in Space), as well another series from Kazusa Inaoka (Invade You) with i tell c, and last but not least, Nine Dragons' Ball Parade from Mikiyasu Kamada &

We’re having a long-overdue conversation about Shonen Jump’s culpability in perpetuating sexism in both its workplace culture and in its series. More specifically, it’s time to have a serious talk about how it has been enabling and rehabilitating not one, not two, but THREE known pedophiles. When I say this podcast was long overdue, I mean it. We originally recorded this way back last August, back when news of Act-Age writer Tatsuya Matsuki’s arrest for groping two female middle school students broke and the ensuing fallout. Dejected and infuriated about the news, we gathered on friends of ours who previously loved Act-Age and were left as similarly furious at Jump’s terrible history with sex pests to vent about our criticisms of the magazine - Twitter friends Your Anime Guy and RinReadsManga, and Kendra from the My Hero Academia Podcast and View from the Top! Haikyu!! podcast. For context, we recorded this podcast on August 22nd 2020, two weeks after Matsuki’s arrest and before… everything that happened