Mangasplaining

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 e...

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...

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 W...

The Mangasplainers dig into a “Missed Connection” from a prior episode, as Deb hosts a rollicking discussion of My Love Story!! b y Kazune Kawahara and Aruko! This shoujo manga turns a lot of the conventions of the genre on its head, but will that mean the crew enjoys it more… or LESS!? A very fun episode of the podcast awaits where you can find the answer to that and more! Read along with the sho...

This week, Mangasplaining has its first official crossover episode with ANOTHER podcast, as Deb and Christopher interview the hosts of Pure Tokyoscope , Patrick Macias and Matt Alt! These esteemed gentlemen have long histories in North America’s manga and anime industries and boy, do they have stories to share. Besides talking about our manga "gateway drugs," this episode digs deep in the...

David hosts this week, continuing his “Violence Hell!” series of manga picks for season 4 with BAKI , by Keisuke Itagaki! Will this hyper-violent treatise on masculinity hit with the crew, or is it going to be “Too Las Vegas” for some? What does ANY of that mean!? Listen to find out! And don't forget to check out our show-notes at Mangasplaining.com , and our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra....

This week the Mangasplaining team dive into one of the most infamous manga in fandom, Inio Asano’s Goodnight Pun Pun . Or Oyasumi PunPun , depending on where and when you read it. But Chip has a very unexpected reaction to the book that calls the Mangang to reconsider their memories of the series. First volume syndrome strikes again? Listen and find out (and read the show notes) at Mangasplaining....

Slipping into your apartment to drink your precious hidden bottle of booze, the low-rent "Under Ninja" Kudo has his sights set hilariously low, and that might just be enough for the Mangasplaining crew to have a Very Good Time with this manga coming alllll the way out of left field. Plus check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com , and subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra...

One of the great classic shojo manga is finally available in English, Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles , and the Mangasplaining team dig in to see if it lives up to the decades of hype! Will Chip like this better than his last foray into the [manga] classics? You'll have to listen to find out! Check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com , and subscribe to our newsletter at Mangasplaini...

The Mangasplaining gang returns to a favorite josei manga from way back in the first season, Takako Shimura’s Even Though We’re Adults! But when the second volume goes in a different direction than the first, will the team still find themselves as passionate about the series as leads Ayano and Akari were in volume 1? Listen to find out!  Don’t forget to check out our show notes at Mangasplaining.c...

Welcome back to Mangasplaining, the podcast where we recommend manga to folks who haven’t read much manga before! We’re kicking off Season 4, aka episode 85, with the biggest manga out there right now, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man Vol. 1.  Will the Mangasplaininers, Deb, David, Chris, and Chip, love this title as much as they did the author’s LOOK BACK? Listen to find out! And hey, check out th...

A great jumping-on point! The Mangasplainers pick their favorite books from Season 3, making recommendations of manga... For people who don't read much manga! Which titles will take home the coveted Triple Crown? Listen and find out! Show notes at Mangasplaining.com and sign up for our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out...

This week the Mangasplainers wrap up the third season of the podcast with their continuing look at Katsuhiro Otomo’s legendary manga series AKIRA . Will this be the volume that causes everyone to fall out of love with the series? No, obviously not, but it's a good discussion! Plus Q&A is back with two great questions! Read along with the show notes at mangasplaining.com , or subscribe to o...

It’s Business Time! We’re back with a new episode and a “new” manga, the dramatic day-in-the-life Division Chief Kosaku Chief . Only published in Japan in a bilingual edition designed to teach and reinforce English language learning among Japanese readers, we got our hands on this Japanese import and deep-dive into the world of Japanese businessmen in the 90s! Check out the show notes at mangaspla...

This week Chip hosts his pick from our "Four First Chapters" special in Episode 75, the seinen parenting & food manga Sweetness & Lightning, by Gido Amagakure! But will this manga be a little TOO sweet for Chip's now-refined manga palette? Listen and find out! Check out the show notes at mangasplaining.com , or subscribe to our newsletter at mangasplainingextra.com . Advertisin...

SPAAAAAACE BROTHERS! It's the story of two young brothers who promise each other to join Japan's space program and journey to the moon, to Mars, and beyond! Except one of them just got fired from his job for headbutting his jerk boss. What will happen in this episodic dramedy of a manga series? And speaking of Dramedys, David takes the "joke" and makes it very real, as at 49:22 we...

This week, Deb takes the Mangasplainers to a place that no one can go, the demolished Kowloon Walled City, in Jun Mayuzuki's Kowloon Generic Romance ! A unique seinen manga from a mangaka that got her break in Shojo, the book both lives up to its title and surpasses it in ways that will surprise and delight! But what does Chip think!? Listen in to find out! And make sure to check out all the i...

Every generation needs its coming-out story, and Gengoroh Tagame’s Our Colors is both groundbreaking and timeless. This week Christopher leads the crew through this autobiographically-informed title and many personal, hilarious, and even heartwarming stories are shared. Show notes and more at Mangasplaining.com . Plus, sign up for our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com . Advertising Inquiries:...

This week on the podcast, David hosts a story about a young boy with immense psychic power, and the nefarious forces that want to control them. Wait, did we skip to the end of the season to do an episode on AKIRA ? Nope, it’s the comedy manga MOB PSYCHO 100 by ONE, on Mangasplaining! Plus, in the Q&A, the team talk about the production differences between manga and superhero comics, and the di...

Is Chi just a cute little kitty, or a personification of the bittersweet memories of growing up and away from your innocence? Deb asks this, and the other Big Questions on this week's episode of Mangasplaining! Check out the show notes at Mangasplaining.com , or subscribe to our newsletter at MangasplainingExtra.com . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https...

FOUR FOR THE PRICE OF... NONE!? This week Christopher leads the Mangaskateers (?) through four different first-chapters from four different manga, all of which are free to read (legally) on the internet! Check out Chapter 1 of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma, Sweetness and Lightning, Kokkoku: Moment by Moment, and How Are You?. But which of these first-chapters will Chip crown the winner, and that we...

Our third and final entry into witch-week ends with what might be the witchiest book of them all, Daisuke Igarashi’s WITCHES . Exploring different traditions of witches across a selection of magical realist stories, this is an ambitious book…but does its reach escape its grasp? The Mangasplainers will find out soon! Then on our Comixology Manga Must-Reads section, we sip, swish, and spit  Drops of...

It's another Witchy Week on Mangasplaining, as David leads the crew through Ryu Mizunagi's Witchcraft Works ! Will this silly harem comedy bewitch the Mangasplainers? And then, Chris leads the team through our bonus read, the classic josei manga Tramps Like Us... er.. You're My Pet , as it's now called, by Yayoi Ogawa. It's a big week for manga, and you're invited to listen...

Get ready for the witchiest month of them all, AUGUST, as we begin three weeks of Very Different books about Witches! We kick things off with the darling of the witchy world (and one of the bestselling manga in North America), Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier ! Deb hosts and says this manga is good for EVERYONE, but will Chip and the gang disagree? Find out! Plus: On our Comixology Manga M...

This week the team 'reads' its first UNTRANSLATED manga, jumping into Season 3 of MOONLIGHT MILE by Yasuo Otagaki. Self-serialized by the author, this sci-fi action manga set on the moon creates a unique experience for the Mangasplainers, but will Chip dig it when he has to turn his head sideways to read the Google Translate text? PLUS! On this week's Manga Must Reads, we check back in...