#241 “Dragon Ball” in depth

FLASHBACK! Though the highly influential manga series, and resulting TV show, are known for non-stop action and fighting, Dragon Ball started out as a comedy strip reminiscent of Akira Toriyama‘s early work, Dr. Slump! Viz’s English versions have gone through various levels of censorship over time to adjust to the low level of sexuality that most Americans expect of kids’ books. Except, most of the characters themselves don’t understand sexuality, and that’s the charm of it; it’s best enjoyed (probably by kids as well) in its pristine form…if you can find it!

In memory of Akira Toriyama, we re-present our review of the original Dragon Ball series. Tim, Kumar, and Mulele review. (Originally published August 16, 2010.)

Visual censorship comparisons after the jump (NSFW but probably safe for Japanese kids):

Continue reading #241 “Dragon Ball” in depth

#798 “Delicious in Dungeon” yields a feast

Delicious in Dungeon

Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon pokes fun at fantasy games and cooking manga tropes, exploring what it would really be like to be a character in a fantasy game, arranging your life in ways that wouldn’t really make sense in the real world. This week, Kumar and Emmet do a deep dive on this consistently enjoyable and beautifully plotted manga, the anime for which is now on Netflix.

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#793 “Berserk” v 7-8: The Battle for Doldrey

Berserk

While Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is meant to feature the swordsman character Guts, in volumes 7 and 8 the focus is on Griffith and the progress made – at ANY cost – toward his dream of having his own kingdom, a machine in which Guts is just a major cog. Casca is the other major figure, as Tim and Kumar wonder just what her real feelings for Griffith – and for Guts – might be; why this lengthy flashback has so much less magic in it than the pre-flashback story did; and how Griffith gets from this point into the Godhand.

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#291 “MONSTER” (Justifiable Homicide? pt 2)

Monster

FLASHBACK! Planning a murder that you think will prevent future murders? That’s the premise — or, at least, one of the premises — of Monster, Naoki Urasawa’s 18-volume series. Set in Germany, the series focuses on the unintended consequences of Dr. Kenzo Tenma’s good deed; he saved the life of a boy who turned out to be a remorseless killer. Tim and guest reviewer Natalie Nourigat discuss. (This episode was originally published August 22, 2011.)

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#785 “Berserk”: The Prosaic Past

Berserk pt 2

After covering the first four volumes of Kentaro Miura’s Berserk a few months back, Tim and Kumar decided to keep going. In volumes 5 and 6, the lengthy (volumes 3 to 14!) flashback to Guts’s origin story continues, but why does the flashback seem to exist in a magic-free world? In the early volumes, in the “present”, Guts was shadowed by an elf, frequently encountered ghosts and demons, and pulled off comically over-the-top feats with his huge sword. But the world of the flashback seems to be, with a few exceptions, a fairly realistic medieval Europe. The guys examine the difference and pick up hints of what comes next.

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#768 “Berserk” v. 1-4

BerserkBerserk abruptly ended when creator Kentaro Miura died two years ago, later resurrected by Miura’s assistants and his friend Kouji Mori. Neither Tim nor Kumar had read this violent, complex manga, but it lingered on our to-do list the past two years until a gag news story about who was going to wrap up Berserk (which Tim didn’t immediately recognize as a gag!) inspired us to take the plunge. What we found is an addictive manga that answers the question “What if Fist of the North Star were a fantasy “graphic medicine” comic about trauma?

Yup, Al Plastino did some “in case of emergency” Peanuts strips

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#764 “Past Tense”, Tough Translation, and Audio Drama

Past Tense

In the year 2038, invisible drones are sent to the past to pick up any event you want to see, if you have the money to pay for it. One woman using the service discovers a secret that puts her in danger in the present. Our friend Jason McNamara, author of such graphic novels as The Rattler and The Martian Confederacy, is back with the forthcoming Past Tense, his first work from Dark Horse, with art by Alberto Massaggia. Jason joins Tim to talk about the book, and then Kumar and Tim review it.

Kumar also fills us in on how his resignation as translator of Cipher Academy, a nearly untranslatable manga, went viral.

Also, Alex Squiers tells Tim about his audio drama The StarWell Foundation, in which a company which recruits superheroes and other celebrities to meet sick kids and the like, deals with one kid’s unusual request: they want to meet a villain.

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#746 Manga Mermaid Madness!

Merfolk

Patrick Ijima-Washburn (a.k.a. “Patrick W.”) has been doing some deep research on certain themes used in manga. Last year, he told us about scary cats in manga; this time it’s (mostly scary) mermaids — or, to be gender neutral, “merfolk.” Thinking it would be a topic easily covered, he was soon caught in a tsunami of manga fish-people, from adaptations of “The Little Mermaid,” to creepy human-like creatures that live in the water, Creature of the Black Lagoon style. He shares his findings here, focusing on merfolk in the works of (clockwise from left) Kazuo Umezu, Rumiko Takahashi, and Osamu Tezuka.

Patrick’s video about mermaids in manga

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#744 “Fist of the North Star”

Fist of the North Star

If you’re looking for over-the-top — way, way over — action and violence, then Fist of the North Star, by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara, is the comic for you! Kumar and Jordan breathlessly recount their experience reading the comic, which — despite the ridiculousness of the story — is done sincerely, not cynically.

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#734 Ron Randall, “Trekker,” and Decompressed Storytelling

Trekker

What’s creator Ron Randall been up to since we talked with him last? He’s continuing his comic Trekker, now 35 years since its inception, and is up to his seventh Kickstarter for the series. He’s back to talk about that, plus he and Tim talk about the rise of decompressed storytelling in American comics over the past few decades, what caused its rise, and its pluses and minuses.

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