Mangasplaining

It's the end of the season (almost) and so it's time to read the next volume of AKIRA by Katsuhiro Otomo! Will the title that introduced Chip Zdarsky to manga continue to be his fav? Deb Aoki hosts, and David Brothers and Christopher Woodrow-Butcher join in on this merry tour through the biggest and most intense volume of the series. Read along with the extensive show-notes at mangasplaining.com and check out our newsletter and digital publisher at mangasplainingextra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Season 4 is nearing its conclusion, and it's time for David's last pick: Heavenly Delusion, by Masakazu Ishiguro! This sci-fi (comedy?) manga has a huge fan-following already thanks to its great art and story AND a hit anime series too! But will that be enough to meet the high standards of the VERY choosy Mangasplaining crew? Read along with the show notes at Mangasplaining.com and check out our manga publishing arm at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

See what happens when a stoic yakuza gets sucked into the world of K-Pop in The Yakuza’s Bias, a hilarious culture clash between the manly men of the mob and glamly men of Korean boy bands. BUT WILL CHIP LIKE IT TOO? Find out this episode! Read along with the extensive show-notes at mangasplaining.com, and subscribe to our newsletter and manga publishing endeavour at mangasplainingextra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Happy New Year! Hope you had time to catch up on the podcast while we were away. :) - For the first episode of 2024 we're starting off with a complex work, Kyoko Okazaki's River's Edge. In this mature-rated episode, we dig into the startling secret lives of teens in the 1990s, through the unique lens of the incredible josei manga creator Kyoko Okazaki. Don't miss this episode! Read the show notes at mangasplaining.com and check out our newsletter and manga publisher at mangasplainingextra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, Deb bring back the BL and we end up with possibly the best title for a manga we've covered on this podcast: Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard!? Despite reservations, a very fun time is had on this week's episode. Plus: The Return of the reader Q&A! Listen and read our show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and sign up for our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Diving into the world of Gekiga this week with the recently released Nejishiki by Yoshiharu Tsuge! Featuring one of the most well-known and important works of Tsuge, ‘Screw Style’, this massive reprint series has been long-awaited by art comix & manga fans and collectors. But how will the Mangasplainers react to a work considerably off their beaten path? And is the book actually more about the pitfalls of traditional Japanese Inn ownership? Gotta listen to find out. Read along with the show notes at Mangasplaining.com, and subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Mangasplainers return to one of their fav artists, Kamome Shirahama of Witch Hat Atelier to take a look at her earlier and steamier work, the angel and devil roommate comedy Eniale & Dewiela. Will the angels and devils in this manga provide a chaste reading experiences? Or are the sultry demons going to get them all hot and bothered? The answer awaits in this episode! Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com and sign up for our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, the Mangasplainers go back for a TRIPLE Chip-Dip into the oeuvre of one Mr. Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of Chainsaw Man and Look Back. Have we pushed Chip too far this episode, making him read a third title by the same person? Does liking those first two titles automatically mean that he'll like the "rug-pull" of the third? Are Canadians 60% 'Rube'? Listen on, listeners, and find out! Read along with the extensive show-notes at Mangasplaining.com, and please subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Is this manga meets X-Men: Inferno? That's how David pitched Blood Blockade Battlefront by Trigun creator Yasuhiro Nightow to good 'ole Chip, but will this over the top spectral superhero series live up to that moniker? Only one way to find out...! Plus: Read and listen along with the show-notes at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chip did it, he called our bluff, and so this episode we're discussing the funny orange comic book cat phenomenon, centering on Japan's entry into that particular sweepstakes, Makoto Kobayashi's What's Michael? It's a weird one folks, strap in. Read the show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter and publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

After our episode on The Blood Red Boy introduced us to Minami Q-ta, the Mangasplaining gang take a deeper dive into their oeuvre with Not All Girls Are Stupid, a brand-new and blistering look at the difficulties of being a woman in your late teens and early 20s. A great chat came out of this, but this episode also ventures into NSFW topics, so maybe keep that in mind before you start listening. Read along with the show-notes at Mangasplaining.com and check out our newsletter and manga publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we take a flying leap into the worlds of WRESTLING and REHAB... By way of a basketball manga? Yep! David skips ahead to get to the good stuff with volume 13 of Real by Takehiko Inoue. Plus! A special segment celebrating 100+ episodes of Mangasplaining. Listen and read the show notes at mangasplaining.com. And check out an interview with Takehiko Inoue in our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's the 100th episode, and the team are doing something special! This week David and Chip take over, interviewing translator Jocelyne Allen and Editor Andrew Woodrow-Butcher on the new manga Okinawa, by Susumu Higa! Produced by MSX and published by Fantagraphics, this gripping historical manga is available everywhere, and you can go behind the scenes of its creation on this very special episode! Show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com. Subscribe to our newsletter and see where Okinawa was serialized at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The manga you’ve been waiting for Mangasplaining to cover has finally arrived! The Mangang dives into PLUTO volume 1, Naoki Urasawa’s epic reimagining of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy story 'The World’s Strongest Robot!' But will this first volume live up to the hype? Is it the Watchmen of manga, or the Ultimate Spider-Man... or something else? This and so much more on episode 99 of Mangasplaining! Read the show notes and more at mangasplaining.com, and check out our newsletter and digital publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oh no! You died in the real world and woke up inside a video game world! Except you're not the heroine of this dating-simulation, you're the villainess who tries to take her down! You've got a bad end coming because the hero(ine) always wins... so what are you going to do? Well you should PROBABLY check to see if they've got Mangasplaining in this new world, because we talk about a manga JUST LIKE THAT this week. Show notes and more at mangasplaining.com. And hey, why not check out our newsletter and digital publishing endeavour at MangasplainingExtra.com? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy