manga

Manga ‘The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud’ Is a Superb Collection of Kuniko Tsurita’s Works

Manga ‘The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud’ Is a Superb Collection of Kuniko Tsurita’s Works

The late manga artist Kuniko Tsurita's works virtually demand repeat readings: initially cryptic, always compelling, inviting the reader to try again, and offering new suggestions and meanings with each read.

Shintaro Kago’s ‘Dementia 21’ Showcases Surrealist Manga

Shintaro Kago’s ‘Dementia 21’ Showcases Surrealist Manga

As much as I admire Shintaro Kago's oddness as a writer, his artistic pen is even sharper (but not without problems) as evident in Dementia 21.

Classic Shōjo Today: Moto Hagio’s ‘The Poe Clan’

Classic Shōjo Today: Moto Hagio’s ‘The Poe Clan’

Moto Hagio's The Poe Clan manga series a gender-fluid melodrama marked by deep psychological trauma.

Nazism Repackaged? A Closer Look at the “Fascist Subtext” of ‘Attack on Titan’

Nazism Repackaged? A Closer Look at the “Fascist Subtext” of ‘Attack on Titan’

Many fantasy writers have incorporated the visual footprint of the Third Reich into their fictional worlds. Few, however, have done so as extensively as the creator of Attack on Titan, who revisited this terrible chapter of history not to find inspiration for a fearsome antagonist, but to excavate the divisive ideas that lay buried there.

What’s to Be Believed in Yoshiharu Tsuge’s ‘The Man Without Talent’?

What’s to Be Believed in Yoshiharu Tsuge’s ‘The Man Without Talent’?

Tsuge's narrator's mustache is no more convincing a disguise than Superman's Clark Kent glasses—which is the paradoxical point in The Man Without Talent.

Tsuge’s ‘The Man Without Talent’ Is a Perfect Manga Parable on Capitalism’s Failed Dreams

Tsuge’s ‘The Man Without Talent’ Is a Perfect Manga Parable on Capitalism’s Failed Dreams

In The Man Without Talent, Tadao Tsuge captures the element of fantasy reflected in the childish utopianism of free market capitalism and the committed entrepreneurs who are its happy-go-lucky evangelists.

The Catharsis of the Void in Anime Horror, ‘Vampire Princess Miyu’

The Catharsis of the Void in Anime Horror, ‘Vampire Princess Miyu’

Within the 26 hard-to-find episodes of Vampire Princess Miyu, there are murders, suicide, and even murder-suicides. There really is something for everyone. So why did it fail?

Michael Cho’s ‘Shoplifter’ Showcases What He Does Best

Michael Cho’s ‘Shoplifter’ Showcases What He Does Best

Existential loneliness and small comforts are perfectly conveyed in three simple colors in Michael Cho's graphic novel, Shoplifter.

Tadao Tsuge’s ‘Slum Wolf’ Provides a Dramatic Look at the Persistence of the Disaffected

Tadao Tsuge’s ‘Slum Wolf’ Provides a Dramatic Look at the Persistence of the Disaffected

After the devastating effects of American bombings of Japan during World War II, how do people rebuild themselves and their society? Tadao Tsuge explores these difficulties in Slum Wolf.

‘Red Colored Elegy’ Is a Most Un-manga Manga Classic

‘Red Colored Elegy’ Is a Most Un-manga Manga Classic

Seiichi Hayashi renders struggles through sometimes obscure, but always evocative imagery in Red Colored Elegy.

‘Erased’ Is Not Your Everyday Manga Time Travel Series

‘Erased’ Is Not Your Everyday Manga Time Travel Series

Erased's time travel and superb child actors remind us of the importance of living in the present.

Superb Acting and Decadent Desserts in Netflix’s Delectable Manga Adaptation, ‘Kantaro’

Superb Acting and Decadent Desserts in Netflix’s Delectable Manga Adaptation, ‘Kantaro’


For quirky live-action manga, it doesn't get much sweeter than Kantaro: The Sweet-Toothed Salaryman.

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