Manga Tak

On this week's episode, Mat is joined by Christophe Galati to discuss Hayao Miyazaki's epic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Originally published in the pages of Japan’s premier otaku magazine, Animage, Nausicaa is Miyazaki’s Manga Magnum opus.  Like his movie of the same name, Nausicaa is the story of the titular princess from a small kingdom, who finds herself thrown into a war foug...

On this week's episode, Mat is joined by Bar (aka InkByBar ) to discuss Kodansha's epic football / soccer manga, Blue Lock. First published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine back in 2018, Blue Lock, written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and drawn by Yusuke Nomura, is a Football Battle Royale mange in which to craft the world’s best striker, 300 Japanese high schoolers are asked to join the Bl...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by Nick (aka RetroBreak ) to discuss Insomniacs After School by Makoto Ojiro. First published by Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirit, Insomniacs After School is a seinen manga by Makoto Ojiro. It's the story of Ganta Makami, an insomniac high school student who struggles socially thanks to his constant state of tiredness.  His life changes one...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined once again by Tom to discuss the classic Go Nagai horror manga, Devilman! After Toei Animation requested a lighter version of his manga, Demon Lord Dante, that could be turned into an anime, Go Nagai created Devilman. Given specific direction to make the manga darker, Nagai launched a more adult work in Kodansha’ Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 1972, just a mo...

On this week's episode, I'm joined by my good friend, illustrator and graphic designer, Crystal to discuss Kaiju No. 8 by Naoya Matsumoto.   First published digitally on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ app, Kaiju No. 8 is a series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It’s the story of Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corpse cleanup guy who still dreams about making it into the Japan Defence Force, a...

On this week's episode, I'm joined by Graphic Designer / Comic artist Jibé to discuss the classic manga The Ghost in The Shell by Masamune Shirow. Originally published from April 1989 to November 1990 in Kodansha’s Young Magazine, The Ghost in the Shell is considered a seminal work not only in the manga sphere, but as a foundational piece of the cyber punk genre.  It is the tale of cybor...

On this week's episode, I'm joined by Lea from Faraos Cigarer in Copenhagen to discuss the excellent God Bless the Mistaken by Nakatani Nio ! Originally published in ASCII Mediawork’s Dengeki Daioh magazine in Japan, God Bless the Mistaken is the 2021 follow up to Nakatani Nio’s incredibly popular Bloom Into You . Rather than Yuri romance though, God Bless the Mistaken is a sci-fi slice...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined (for real this time!) by Zane of the Undisputed Anime Podcast to chew the fat about Delicious in Dungeon by Ryōko Kui! Originally published in Enterbrain’s Harta magazine from 2014 to 2023, Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui is a manga that undoubtedly became the smash hit of the Spring 2024 anime season. The story follows a party of young adventurers det...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined once again by Tom to discuss the under rated single volume story by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land! Originally serialised in Shonen Jump between May and August of the year 2000, Akira Toriyama’s Sandland is a 14 chapter, single volume work set on a barren Earth where Demons and Humans co-exist.  In this world, the only known water supply is controlled by a gr...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by the Tsu Tsu Dae , co-host of the Undisputed Anime Podcast to discuss our first Shōjo title, Orange!  Launched in Shueshia’s Bessatsu Margaret magazine in March 2012, Orange is a manga by writer / artist Ichigo Takano. It's a story of teen angst, time travel and a the challenges of mental health. While the latter aren't your typical Shōjo plo...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by the AC MacDonald , creator of Twistwood Tales , to discuss the excellent Akane Banashi! Started in Shonen Jump back in February 2022, it's the story of a teenager who wants to become a Rakugo performer (aka a Rukugo-Ka) to prove the worth of her father's art after his explosion from the Arakawa school. Join us as we discuss why we both adore...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined once again by Tom to talk about one of our favourites: Fullmetal Alchemist. Launched in 2001 in Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan, Fullmetal Alchemist is a corner stone of early 2000’s shonen manga. It’s the story of Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers with a gift for alchemy, on a quest to find the philosophers stone to right the wrongs of their y...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by Alex (aka snesdrunk ) to talk about the wonderful Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe As the title suggest, the manga is the story of Frieren, the titular Elven mage, who at the beginning of the story has defeated the Demon King with her fellow adventures and brought peace to the land. But Frieren, being an elf, will...

On this episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by Ian Sta. Maria ( takbotikbalang ) to talk about the excellent Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro! Originally published in Shueisha’s Business Jump from 1990 to 1995, Gunmu, or Battle Angel Alita as we know it in the West, is a Cyber Punk epic about an amnesiac female cyborg called Alita. Who after being revived by cyber doctor Daisuke Ido, sets off...

On this pilot episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by Zane from Undisputed Anime to talk in depth about Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen Zero.  The story follows Yuta, who is a high school student haunted by his childhood sweetheart, Rika. After a tragic accident, Rika is turned into special grade, vengeful curse that forces Yuta to keep his distance from everyone for fear of what she’ll do to th...

Join us we set sail on a new podcasting adventure called Manga Tak! On this first episode, Mat talks with his long time podcasting partner Tom to discuss Eiichiro Oda's classic: One Piece! One Piece is the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a young man who embarks on a quest to seek out Gold Roger's ultimate treasure, the One Piece, and fulfil his dream to become the King of Pirates!  Join us as...

On this  episode of Manga Tak, Mat is joined by AC ( aka ProdTally ) to talk in depth about Rumiko Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura. It’s the story of Ataru Moroboshi, an extremely unlucky and lecherous guy who is randomly selected by a computer to face off against an alien race, known as the Oni, in a game of tag to prevent them taking over the world. His opponent? The daughter of their leader, th...