Manga Tak

After agreeing to marry a mysterious, beautiful girl after a near death experience, Nasa Yuzaki has his world turned upside down on his 18th birthday when she suddenly appears on his doorstep with a marriage form in hand! Who is this woman and why does she remind him so much of the fabled moon princess Kaguya? This week on Manga Tak, Mat is joined once more by AC Yoshimura ( aka prodtally ) to dis...

In the world of competitive ballroom dancing, there are two competing styles: standard and latin, but in order to be the best in the world, two Japanese 'kings of ballroom' will have to come together in order to rise to the challenge of 10Dance: a glittering triathlon that would see them compete in both styles!  This week, Mat is joined once again by Ida to discuss 10Dance by Inouesatoh....

Just a quick message from me to ask with your help picking the manga and guest for the 100th episode of the show!  Get your vote in now using this link - https://forms.gle/oiXmaX24ry6sHvEf9 Voting will close on February 20th, so be sure to get your vote in ASAP! Thank you in advance! Mat Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music! Find us on: X: Manga Tak Pod Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod Instagram:...

A young Fujino publishes a weekly comic strip in her school paper to the fanfare of all her classmates, dreaming to become a Mangaka when she grows up... However, after another student named Kyomoto is published in the same paper, the way Fujino and her classmates see her work changes forever. It's the start of an unlikely friendship and a tragic story: one that echoes it's creator'...

Looks can be deceiving. Kaoru Suzuki is a towering boy who strikes fear into the hearts of his classmates with his intimidating looks... If they just got to know him, they're realise he's a kind, gentle boy but unfortunately nobody takes the time!  That is until one day on the train to his new high school, he’s saved by a delicate but tough boy called Arata Haruna. The two boys hit it of...

Duranki is book with two tales to tell... On one hand, it's the story of an androgynous child named Usumgal, born of the gods, but who is neither god nor human, neither male nor female. On the other, it's an experiment by Kentaro Miura to see if his manga studio, Studio Gaga, would be able to produce a work that could reach the high bar set by his masterpiece, Berserk.  Unfortunately, wi...

If you've spent years thinking that the work of Mitsuru Adachi isn't for you because you have no interest in baseball, pull up a chair!  This week on Manga Tak, I talk to designer and illustrator Bastian Najdek , to discuss Short Game! A collection of 5 short stories from one of Japan's masters of romance, that proves that while the book is about baseball, it also REALLY isn't!...

Vikings have seen a resurgence recently thanks to shows like (ahem) Vikings, and games like Assassins Creed Valhalla and Valheim, but what if I told you the best piece of Viking fiction of the past 20 years was actually a manga? And more importantly, that it's story is based on real vikings! This week, Mat's not only joined by another passionate lover of comics, but a descendant of Thorf...

Takumi Fujiwara is a kid who doesn't really care about cars... Every morning he has to get up at the crack of dawn to make deliveries for his father's tofu shop. To him it's a hassle because of the strict requirements his father places on him... but those same requirements have also moulded him into the fastest racer on the Akina slope! This week, Mat is joined once again by Georgie...

After starting High School, Ruri Aoki thought that she was ready to deal with changes in her life... That was until she woke one day with a pair of horns growing out of her head, and her Mum told her it's because her Dad's actually a dragon! But this isn't a fantasy shonen title! In fact, it's actually a slice of life! Rather than battling mythical creatures with her newfound p...

Hiroto Ikuta is a carefree, and optimistic guy who's totally fine taking each day as it comes. While those around him worry he's approaching 30 with no real ambitions or love life, he's not worried at all! However, after the older woman he befriended passes away and he inherits her house in Tokyo, his life begins to change in unexpected ways!  The most notable of which is his cousin...

All you need to do to hire the service of the City Hunter is to write XYZ on the bulletin board of Shinjuku station and they’ll do the rest.... These Sweepers are guns for hire, with no case to big or small: anything goes... This week I'm joined once again by Tom to discuss the '80s cult classic  City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo ! While the series debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1985, it&apo...

Being an over 30's Toykoite is difficult: it's hard to find a man, you lose your passion for your work and your only way to let off steam is to goto the local Isakaya with your friends to let of some steam. But what if that's part of the problem? After being caught off guard by the announcement of the Tokyo Olympics, Rinko vows to get married before 2020! But being single is the lea...

Eita Ichiyoshi is a young man being driven slowly mad by the mundanity of his job at a confectionary factory. That is until while walking home alone on Christmas Eve, he catches a mysterious bouncy ball that he decides to take home. After throwing it to relieve his frustrations, he can’t believe his luck when it turns into a beautiful, naked woman with perfect lips! But all it took was a kiss for...

The bike's charged, the skies are blue and the open road is calling.... there's one issue: there's seemingly only two women left to burn rubber and explore it! After leaving their bunker, Youko and Airi set out to retrace Yuoko's sister's footsteps by following her old social media... Why were they in a bunker? What happened to everyone else? Why are penguins so adorable?...

Jiro Azuma isn’t your run of the mill Ninja though, oh no - he also has the unique ability to talk to animals. It’s this special skill that leads him to nurse a dying cat back to health… but this isn’t just any cat: it’s Rago, the Black Star of Doom: a Mononoke of incredible power. Before he knows it, Jiro has fused with this vengeful spirit in the middle of a fight to the death and is immediately...

Rintaro Tsumugi attends Chidori High. It's a boy’s school that only takes the dregs of society, which just happens to stand next door to the prestigious Kikyo Girls’ High! While the girls from this elite school never dream of socialising with anyone from Chidori, Kaoruko just happens to have a sweet tooth and when she notices Rintaro behind the counter of his family’s Cake Shop, suddenly past...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode deals with some pretty heavy themes including suicide and physical abuse, so skip this one if you're not comfortable with those topics! After a small, octopus looking alien from the Planet Happy arrives on Earth, determined to spread happiness to everyone he meets, he runs into a morose young girl called Shizuka who isn’t impressed with his happy gadgets... In fa...

Ten hopeful candidates embark on a test to survive for 53 days aboard an abandoned space shuttle to earn themselves a place at the prestigious Cosmo Academy. However, once inside the airlock they realise something is amiss: they are now eleven. Can they put their suspicions aside in order to pass? Or will the threats they face cause them to give into despair and abandon the test, and with it, thei...

In a world populated by mechanical 'creatures' and humans, where the lines between man and man-made are blurred, a girl called Hyaku straddles the line between human and mechanical. Fuelled by rage, she is targeting the high profile krechs of the underworld to seek vengeance, and her stolen body parts! Will it ease her pain? And more importantly, in doing so, will she regain her humanity...

This is the story of Shuuko, Eika, Misaki and Shio: four best friends who share an apartment together in the heart of the city. While they might share a roof, they all face individual problems! For Shuuko, it's the societal pressure to get married, for Eika, it's how to climb the corporate ladder. Misaki's trying to figure out her situation-ship and Shio's in a panic about how...

After the failure of his last project, Mr. Shiozawa quits his job as a Manga editor after 30 years and ponders his next move. But try as he might, the medium he loved, the calling he devoted his professional life to, has a hold on him that he isn't quite ready let go. Suddenly he finds himself deciding to put together 'the perfect manga' and to do so, he's going to need a littl...

On this Manga Tak-ked On (i.e. a Bonus Episode), Mat is joined one again by Georgie (aka Mainly. Manga ) to talk more on Yan by Chang Sheng   now that Volume 2 has dropped! Join us as we discuss how our fears over volume 1's huge setups were mislead, the book's ability to ramp up an already action packed first volume, and honestly just how much enjoyed the middle instalment of this trilo...

In the year 2080, Christmas a thing of the past: declining birthrates have meant fewer children, changes in climate have distorted the seasons and the disappearance of Santa has relegated 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year' to an ancient tradition. But on December 25th, the conditions have been met to break the curse robbing the world of old Saint Nick, with the death of Kazushige Sand...

In a world where everyone has a 'quirk' the gives them super human abilities, a young boy called Izuku Midoriya who is born without one may have to give up on his dreams of becoming a super hero. That is until one day after trying to rescue a classmate, he is given the opportunity of a lifetime by the world's Number 1 Hero, All Might: Will Midoriya accept his quirk, a mysterious abi...