My youngest two are 9 and this week they had a Scholastic Book Fair. One thing that they've found is that, from time to time, there is Disney manga at the book fair from TokyoPop. Which, by the way, there were no comic books at Scholastic Book Fairs when I was a kid, but I digress.
As my youngest like Lilo and Stitch, they picked up this volume called "Stitch: Best Friends Forever!" Short version: It's cute.
The story has Stitch's ship crash landing in an island in Okinawa. While there, Stitch becomes friends with a local girl named Yuna and goofiness ensues. This single volume has self-contained stories in each individual chapter of Stitch getting into silly / funny situations with an elementary aged girl and her friends.
This is, however, a compilation volume. There is a full, two volume Stitch manga that was previously released. "Best Friends Forever" picks some fan favorite chapters and mashes them together in what, at times, feels like no particular order. It's not bad, but it does give you kind of whiplash from time to time
Long story short, it's a taste of the Stitch manga. If you enjoy it (which we did), then it's worth checking out the full series (which I probably will with my kids).
It's a cute, all ages manga about Stitch and a different friend in Japan. If you like cute kid's manga, check it out.
New Read - My Lovesick Life as a '90s Otaku, Volume 3
Volume 3 has been read and it was a journey.
Masamune is trying to set up something nice for his sister's birthday. Megumi gets involved, trying to encourage him to do a party and maybe ask his Mom to come. Also, she finally meets Yui in person and finds out that Yui is a boy! And he tries hard to not reveal that he has a huge crush on Megumi.
It's just adorable.
But, Megumi ends up pulled in two directions and her crush / trying to help Masamune pulling her another way and it all comes crashing down as a bag full of her precious manga falls out onto the ground during Masamune's sister's birthday, which had already become a mess because of Masamune's Mom.
The ending of this volume. Ugh!
I don't know how I'm going to wait for the conclusion in Volume 4 which doesn't drop until August. Ugh!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments if you've read this.
New Manga Read - Fist of the North Star, Volume 12
Welcome to the apocalypse!
Volume 11 is about this man on the cover, Falco.
Falco is the inheritor of Gento Kōken (roughly translated as Original Dipper Imperial Fist). The followers of Genko Kōken were sworn to protect the Celestial Emperor (Tentei) from harm.
In this volume, Kenshiro is returning to help the Hokuto Army which is led by Lin and Bat to free those under the thumb of Jaco. Falco, who appears to be nothing but good and compassionate, is somehow the evil Jaco's second in command. Why? Jaco has kidnapped the Tentei and kept them hostage.
This volume is filled to the brim with reveals. Some about Lin. A lot of backstory about Falco, which makes him such a fascinating character. Also, the reveal about the Tentei and who they are was HUGE. Doing minimal spoilers despite this manga being as old as I am.
Falco has a prosthetic leg due to Raoh destroying his leg in the past. Raoh told him that he needed to kill Jaco or, one day, Jaco would manipulate and dominate him. Raoh was right.
While we get a brutal match between Falco and Kenshiro, the ending of the volume is well done with a cliffhanger for the next volume.
ALSO (which I say a lot), Fist of the North Star constantly reminds you that toxic masculinity is bad and that you can be masculine and have feelings / cry. Kenshiro feels, always. Kenshiro allows himself to cry over loss, cry over the suffering of others. He allows himself to feel. There is nothing un-masculine about having emotions. Kenshiro constantly reminds the reader of that...amongst all the brutal violence.
So, I was tagged on Intagram by facetious_manga to talk about my "Bookstagram Backstory." I don't know if a Pixelfed equivalent exists. Bookselfed? Pixelbook? I don't know, I'll use both hashtags and share.
Regardless. Let's go, I guess.
When did I start on Bookstagram?
This account is and remains a personal account. While I post (often), about manga, this isn't exclusively about books or manga. My first post was in April 2016. Wow...that's a long time ago. I started getting more active in posting about books / manga, participating in things like "25 Days of Manga" in 2020. But it was early 2023 when I started posting a lot more manga pics / reviews.
What inspired your username?
I started on Twitter and needed a small handle. MD - I'm from Maryland, MRN - My initials. 83 - I'm old.
What was your 1st review?
The first "review" I posted was saying that the Free Comic Book Day 2016 Firefly comic was good. It got more detailed in my reviews after that.
Favorite part of Bookstagram?
The community. So may good folks to talk, discuss, and share.
Booksta made me buy?
My Lovesick Life as a 90s Otaku. I couldn't NOT get it, the reviews were just too much and I was not disappointed.
Aesthetic?
Middle aged nerdy, bearded Dad-core? I really have no idea.
Recent reads?
A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ōima
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita
Re-Reading Your Lie in April by Naoshi Arakawa
Describe your aesthetic using emojis
🤷♂️🎵🤡🤭🐱👨🦲🧔
Tagging no one. Feel free to participate if you like!
New Read - My Lovesick Life as a '90s Otaku, Volume 2
Okay, internet, I'm caught up!
I finally read Volume 2 of My Lovesick Life as a 90's Otaku and my goodness - the emotions. The feeling of being a nerd in the 90s and trying to be...normal around others. It's too real.
Volume 2 finally sees Meggers embrace her otaku-ness publicly, kind of, but also not. It advances the slow burn romantic tension between the class President and Megumi in such an adorable way. You see Masamune, his anime / manga obsessed Mom, and you see that he's basically solo parenting his siblings. It brings in some sad, but also sweet moments.
Also, Megumi makes an unexpected livelong friend this volume too by defending another girl who has a hard time making female friends. It's adorable and I love every second of it.
I am so glad I jumped into this series and looking forward to Volume 3.
Flying solo today with the kids and Mrs out after I got home from work.
So, decided to get myself some sushi for dinner and catch up on some Sailor Moon. I'm on Volume 7 of the Naoko Takeuchi Collection re-releases of Sailor Moon.
This volume is all plot, no side stories, with a new enemy arriving - the Dead Moon. They set up a circus in town and there's an eclipse; no stars show up in the sky. Throughout the volume, each of the Sailor Scouts loses their power and digs down to find a new, more potent power.
This includes our trio who ran off to raise Sailor Jupiter as a throuple in the woods. They regain their powers, all four of them, and are on their way to rejoin everyone to eventually take on the Dead Moon Circus and their leaders.
It's a solid volume and there's some concerning magical sicknesses hitting Mamo and, by the end, maybe Usagi too. We also meet a powerful new character who can project as an alicorn.
This weekend I sat down and read through the manga adaptation of the One Piece side story "Ace's Story." Originally released as a novel entitled, "One Piece Novel A," this manga adaptation was setup by Ryo Ishiyama with art by Boichi of Dr. Stone fame.
The volume is gorgeous and stylish, as is all art from Boichi. The story is well done, telling about how Ace first got his Devil Fruit powers, but also the formation of his original pirate crew, the Spade Pirates.
It follows Ace's initial adventures in piracy, his second in command Masked Deuce, and his plan to take on the powerful pirate, Whitebeard.
Along the way, we meet some familiar faces and it's a great journey focusing in on Ace.
If you like Ace as a character, check this manga adaptation out.
The volume ends with Boichi's adaptation of One Piece chapter 51, "Roronoa Zoro Falls Into the Sea," where Mihawk and Zoro battle for the first time. It's a great chapter, and Boicihi's art just makes it look so cool.
Can't wait to dive into Volume 2, which concludes this side story, when it drops.
New Read - My Lovesick Life as a '90s Otaku, Volume 1
Mangagram had been talking about this nonstop it felt like, so I decided to pick up Volume 1.
Now, before I get much further into anything review-esque, let me tell you a bit about myself. I have always been a big nerd. In the mid to late 90s, I was a teenager who loved comic books, Dungeons and Dragons, and video games. Me and a friend created our own card game called "Tragic: The Saddening," a spoof on Magic the Gathering. I tried to be as normal as possible at school, but I was a socially awkward teenager who said the weirdest things sometimes which led to awkward moments of my peers just looking at me.
By the time I was a senior, I had learned to fake being more average and sociable, a skill which I have honed to this day.
I did not discover anime or manga until college cause, I'm an American and where I grew up it wasn't really accessible.
However, all of this is to say that this series was relatable. Socially awkward teenager who has crushes and is trying not to gush about their geeky hobbies. Check and check.
I plowed through this first volume so fast and already pre-ordered the remaining 3 volumes.
Suffice it to say, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more.
Sand Land is interesting. This was a single volume, self contained story from the late Akira Toriyama. It tells the tale of the titular "Sand Land," where after a major apocalyptic event, there is limited water and the King hoards what remains, selling it to the people at high rates. There are also demons walking the world for reasons.
Enter our heroes - Thief, a sneaky and balding demon; Beelzebub, the son of the King of the Demons; and Rao, a human on the mission to find a secret water supply to the south to free the people from the King's tyrannical rule.
The story follows this trio as they travel south, run into various fights, and eventually save the day. In the process, the story rails against those who hoard resources and has some social commentary about how governments / militaries lie to their people. There is also sub-textual commentary about climate change and how certain governments treat indigenous populations and (sometimes purposefully) disregard their existing knowledge of the world after crushing them.
Overall, it's a fun story and I'm glad I had a chance to re-read this great, physical edition before the new anime / video games drop. Toriyama gave us a bunch of stories before he passed and I hope you get a chance to check out some of his stories outside of Dragon Ball.
Last night I sat down and finished reading Volume 6 of Kodansha's reprint of Sailor Moon. This volume had three components. First, it finished the story arc of the Outer Sailor Scouts (Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus) and Sailor Saturn / Hotaru Tomoe. The story's conclusion was well done, with the world saved once again with Saturn giving the final blow to Pharaoh 90. Hotaru is then reborn as an infant to be raised by a trio of Sailor Scout Moms. It was an unexpected (to me, who is learning about all this for the first time now) plot point, but I appreciated how it was handled.
The remaining chapters of this edition include a side story with Sailor Chibi Moon for her birthday followed by a special story entitled "Kaguya Hime's Beloved." This story was adapted as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S: The Movie," too. It also has Luna falling in love with a human. The story was cute and well done...and absolutely brought some tears. While I loved the main story plot conclusion, this side story was just so well done; it makes me want to watch the movie - even if parts of it have been adapted and changed.
Overall, looking forward to the next edition so I can keep reading about these Sailor Scouts.
When last we left off our rooster hero, Keiji, he had met his brother and was on the way to go after some devils - which can control demons. This continues that search for his father, kind of team up with his brother, and an attempt to free the good demons they had met along the way from being brainwashed by the devils.
I'm going to be real for a moment. If you like the idea of a group of literal chickens fighting monsters, then just pick this up. I don't need to tell you more. It's ridiculous.
If that sounds too absurd for you, then feel free to pass.
Also, at Hot Topic, I happened to find official Rooster Fighter merch. So, I got to wear the shirt while reading the chapter. Good stuff.
New Manga Read - Fist of the North Star, Volume 11
Volume 11 is the first volume of Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) after the time skip. This volume includes a bonus chapter that Buronson wrote and Tetsuo Hara drew from 2014 that fills in the gap between the end of Part 1 to the beginning of Part 2 where Bat and Lin are now adults leading an army of rebels called the Hokuto Army.
Ken had been isolated with Yuria until her death. Now he's returning to the world to help make things right and destroy some enemies. This volume introduced some new characters and the adult versions of both Bat and Rin are well presented.
Bat is brash and bold, trying to protect others. Rin is soft and kind, but also ready to fight if needed. They are, in many ways, the two sides to Kenshiro himself. And I love to see it.
The volume ends on such an unexpected moment that I really can't wait until Volume 12 finally drops on my lap.
New Read - Superman vs Meshi, Volume 3 (Final Volume)
We have reached the end of this silly, Superman story. The final volume included a lot of funny moments similar to the previous two.
It also had the following goofy stories: Death of Superman story where delicious Japanese food brings Superman back from the brink post-Doomsday battle; Superman and Supergirl hanging out getting food together in Japan; Superman tracking his bucket list; and an adorable finale with Lois and Clark together.
Overall, glad I read this silly series that was fun from beginning to end. Fun side adventure with Superman and friends just enjoying Japanese cuisine.
New Read - One Operation Joker, Volume 3 (Final Volume)
The final volume of One Operation Joker has dropped and gave us a full conclusion to the story! We finally find out why Batman was turned into a baby and who is responsible for this unlikely scenario. Through it all, we see The Joker trying, again to be a parent, with guest visits from Robin and The Riddler, both of whom 100% see through his "disguise" of not wearing makeup in public when he's going around with baby Bruce.
We also get a cute chapter where now toddler Bruce gets into a fight at school, only to find out that the baby's sense of justice prevailed as he punched a bully.
The ending pretty much just restores the status quo of Batman as Batman, the Joker as the Joker after an unfortunate situation with the Riddler that mirrored one from Batman's childhood. However, the entire series covers like 3-4 years where Batman was gone in Gotham and the Joker was far less active. The story shows a trickle down impact that a less active, murder spree Joker leads to overall less supervillain activity in Gotham. Which is an interesting thought.
Overall, enjoyed this silly concept. I don't know if it could have gone on much longer with this gag, but it remained funny to the end. Would recommend if you want a silly Batman story.
I rarely jump into book stack challenges I find online, however, over on Instagram there is a "Manga or Book User Name" stack challenge from users heygingermaenga, dragonballzowie, and mainly.manga. So, I decided to try it out.
The issue I had was that it was really hard to find an R book.
So, here is how I laid out MDMRN.
M - My Father is a Unicorn
D - Donald Duck Visits Japan
M - My Broken Mariko
R - Return of the Jedi (Pop-Up Book)
N - (The) Nightmare Before Christmas
This was a fun challenge and thanks to the three of you for putting this out there.
In case you missed the summary from my first post (or have never heard of this), the basic premise is that after Superman was in Japan fighting crime, he enjoyed their relatively inexpensive Japanese cuisine and is basically obsessed with it now.
So yes, after reading Volume 1, I ordered Volume 2 of Superman Vs Meshi and pre-ordered Volume 3. Expect a review of Volume 3 in February when it releases.
This volume continues where Volume 1 left off with Superman's continued obsession with Japanese cuisine. This volume brings us more special guests including Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg. Wonder Woman spends her chapter thinking Superman is going to hit on her, only to realize he just really loves food. The Flash took a second job as a delivery...runner for a fictional version of Grub Hub. Cyborg is shown as the introvert of the Justice League until Superman introduces him to some new food. I mean, he's still an introvert, but they start chatting about food.
One thing I will note is that this is absolutely accessible to kids. There is not really any adult topics discussed, violence, cursing, etc. One of my 9 year olds read Volume 1 and basically starred at me to finish reading Volume 2 so she could pick it up next. Definitely a fun one if your kids are interested in goofy manga, super heroes, or learning about Japanese food.
Overall, silly, cute, makes me hungry. Would read again and ready for Volume 3.
Have you read any The Ring (Ringu) alternate universe stories?
No? Well why not!
For Manga Monday, I wanted to profile two that I enjoyed about Sadako (the girl in the video).
The first is Sadako-san and Sadako-chan. What's it about? Sadako comes out of a device and meets a small girl also named Sadako. The younger Sadako (Sadako-chan) tries to help Sadako-san upload videos of herself onto their in-universe version of YouTube to curse more people. And adorableness ensues as the two bond and become buddies. It's bittersweet, but also cute and mostly wholesome as Sadako keeps forgetting to curse folks online.
Sadako at the End of the World is a more somber story. It tells a post-apocalyptic tale where to siblings find an old CRT TV and end up bringing Sadako into the world. However, there is not much left of the world and these two kids befriend Sadako. Sadako and the kids then go visiting folks who lost everything in this world and, inadvertently, help them with their grief as their lives end. It's sad, but also cathartic.
If you are interested in seeing Sadako in different scenarios, check them both out!
After reading One Operation Joker, I knew eventually I was going to find myself looking into the other silly DC Comics themed manga out there.
Once again, as a random pickup from Target, I snagged a copy of Superman vs Meshi. It did not disappoint.
It's written by the same author of One Operation Joker, so I knew going into it it would be silly. It did not disappoint.
The basic premise is as follows - Superman was in Japan fighting crime, enjoyed relatively inexpensive Japanese cuisine, now almost every time he get super hungry, he flies to Japan for a snack or meal. And he just walks into random dining locations as Superman, in full costume. Guest stars include Batman and Aquaman, each dining in Japan with Superman.
Basically, silly premise that has a silly execution. If you are looking for a goofy and chill manga about food with recognizable a cast you don't have to think much about, this is for you. Definitely recommend.
New Manga Read: Fist of the North Star - Volume 10
It has finally happened. I have reached the penultimate battle of the first half of Fist of the North Star!
Kenshiro versus Raoh.
It did not disappoint. This volume (10) revealed more about the history of Yuria, Kenshiro, and Raoh that were fantastically done. The truth about Yuria an her sickness; Raoh's realization that he will never be as vulnerable as Kenshiro were huge moments.
For all the beefy dudes beating each other, which is a core component of Fist of the North Star, the masculinity of Kenshiro isn't toxic, isn't oppressive, and shows true emotion, vulnerability, and sorrow. There is emotional depth to Kenshiro that Raoh is unwilling to have. His own internalized misogyny won't allow Raoh to admit he has these feelings of love, compassion, or fear. Kenshiro allows himself to feel all these things.
As the volume concluded, I found myself far more emotional than I expected for a post-apocalyptic tale about beefy dudes fighting. It was so well done.
Now, I move onto Volume 11 and the time skip.
But here's to the story of Kenshiro and Raoh and a very satisfying ending to their tale.
As we're closing in on Christmas, I decided to bust back out Sweet Rein and give it a re-read. I had not read it since 2021 and let me tell you, it's cheesy, but fun.
For those who don't know much about it (which may be many), Sweet Rein is about a girl named Kurumi who bumps into a boy named Kaito. Afterwards, a long invisible rein appears between the two of them, tying them together!
What we learn is that Santa (or Santas) are everyday people who connect with a human-reindeer to give out presents in their specific area once a year. This boy, Kaito, is Kurumi's reindeer. The story then follows Kurumi and Kaito as they are clearly having a crush on each other and also give out presents, work as Santa for Christmas, and overall try to make people's days brighter.
It's cute. I don't remember how it ended, so I'll have to finish it up before Christmas!
Have you read Sweet Rein? If so, what did you think of it?
This weekend I read Volume 2 of One Operation Joker. Much like Volume 1, it continued with the parenting jokes. This time we brought in Harley Quinn a couple times to help the Joker get baby Batman into a good daycare facility. Also, Alfred Pennyworth showed up as said daycare facility happened to be owned by Wayne Enterprises.
It's such a goofy concept and it was able to keep the gag going through a second volume. I feel like this series maxing out at 3 volumes is probably for the best because I'm not sure how much more they can do with this same baby Batman gag.
This weekend I finally got to reading #SailorMoon Volume 5, from #Kodansha's new Naoko Takeuchi Collection reprint of the series. Let me tell you - fantastic.
This set of chapters introduced us to Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, who had such a fantastic introduction. The duo as Mugen Academy students infiltrating the school; Sailor Uranus' sexuality and gender expression; and the pair's willingness for brutality introduced some new elements into the series that just made it hard to look away. I plowed through this volume this weekend.
Overall, solid volume, can't wait until the next one arrives for me in January.
The single volume series follows Donald and his buddies José Carioca and Panchito from the classic cartoon #TheThreeCaballeros work for Duck Furnishings in the US. Being that it is this trio, they're always getting into trouble. So, their boss sends the three of them to Japan to become better employees by forcing them to work at a traditional, and very strict, Onsen in Japan.
Basically, it's a goofy story about Donald and friends becoming good at helping / serving others while working at an Onsen. That's it.
I have read this a few times and so have a few of my kids. It's silly, it's relaxing, and I tend to bring it with me on vacations if I'm looking for something quick to read at the beach.
Are there any single volume manga that you go back to and re-read to relax? Let me know in the comments!
What would happen if Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch, crash landed in Japan during the Warring States period instead of in modern Hawai'i?
That's the question that the late Hiroto Wada answered in the manga series "Stitch and the Samurai" (Tono-sama to Stitch).
The art is so very well done and feels like a historical manga. Then enter Stitch, who is drawn exactly like he looks in the movie. The juxtaposition of serious looking historical manga art with the goofiness of Stitch is jarring and hilarious. Also, our titular Lord / Samurai becoming so head over heels obsessed with Stitch is something else.
TokyoPop consolidated all three volumes of it into a single, physical release omnibus, which is a great way to read it. I already read it and reviewed it digitally for @beneaththetangles a while back, but it was fun to re-read it again.
Now, to convince my Stitch loving kids to check it out too.
I have never really done #ShelfieSunday before, mostly because I do not own tons of physical manga. I also have a gaggle of kids who take up shelf space, so I have more in stacks in my room 🤭
Here are a couple quick pics of some of my manga shelved. There's some other random books intermixed.
Feel free to comment below on what stands out to you!