My Taste is Better Than Yours

We’ve discussed so many series that we love, so felt it was about time to celebrate the characters we love, too. This episode is our mini-Oscars of our favourite manga characters across various categories and a good excuse as any to see how our tastes compare. Timecodes: 0:00 Our Favourite Manga Characters 2:13 Male + Female Protagonists 6:54 Best Villain 9:42 Best Minor Character 12:37 Best of th...

The latest episode focuses on the winners of the Next Manga Award for 2026: Someone Hertz by Ei Yamano and Home at the Horizon by Taiyou Watabe, along with our additional recommendations in the print and digital categories. We go over the history of the award, the trend towards Jump titles in the past few years, and go into whether we think the two winners are deserving and worth checking out, Tim...

In a similar fashion to our episode on Manga with Failed Anime Adaptations, we’re flipping it to the positive: those adaptations that we hail, and believe surpass the source material. Expect plenty of disagreements as we list of some potentially hot takes as well as a few we could both agree on! Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - why do some adaptation exceed their source material? 4:44 The Elusive Sa...

We switch to an Enzo recommendation this time, and it’s another all-timer for him: A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori: a historical drama set in Central Asia in the nineteenth century - the winner of a Manga Taisho award and many other acclaims throughout its run and thus it’s another test to see where an Enzo classic shapes up in Samu’s estimations. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - another one of Enzo’s...

Enzo’s 74-volume journey to finish Tite Kubo’s Bleach has finally come to an end… or has it? With the possibility of a sequel on the horizon and the final cour of the anime currently airing, what better time than to wrap up our thoughts on the controversial ending of the Thousand Year Blood War as well as of the series as a whole, including favourite arcs and characters. Timecodes: 0:00 Continuing...

The final cour of Bleach ’s Thousand Year Blood War is currently airing, so what better time than for Enzo to catch up and give his thoughts on the series than right now? In this first of two episodes we cover the majority of the quincy war and discuss the manga vs anime comparisons. Tune in for the second part next episode! Timecodes: 0:00 The first of two episodes covering the ‘end’ of Bleach 4:...

There have been a lot of anime adaptations of good manga. And a lot of them have not been good. We came up with our top 5 (or bottom 5?) list of failed anime adaptations - whether they failed to live up to our expectations or didn’t capture the essence of the source materials - with some familiar choices and more niche ones where our tastes differ from the general consensus. Timecodes: 0:00 Introd...

Hunter x Hunter is back! To celebrate, we're talking about highlights of the series, ranking our favourites characters ad arcs, re-iterating why I love the series as much as we do, and guessing how long we think it has left - and more. Timecodes: 0:00 An overview episode on Hunter x Hunter 2:54 Is Togashi a gardener or an architect? 5:31 What is the one reason we love Hunter x Hunter? 8:39 If...

We’re midway through 2026, what better time to do a retrospective so far on Weekly Shonen Jump? Is Weekly Shonen Jump dead? Why is it struggling to find hits? What series deserved to live that got cut? Are female characters treated better now than they used to be? All our takes on these, and more! Timecodes: 0:00 Mid-year retrospective instead of our Jumping to Conclusions for 2026 1:34 “Weekly Sh...

We’re discussing one of Enzo’s favourite manga this episode ( Magus of the Library by by Mitsu Izumi) one that he’s shouted out multiple times in the past, and now we get to delve into this dense series and all it has to discuss: racism, sexism, environmentalism, and plenty more topics in a high fantasy setting, about an optimistic young boy who loves the power of stories and sets out on the journ...

We’re onto the Lost Agent (aka Fullbring) arc of Bleach now; one with a sour reputation in the eyes of plenty of fans of the series, but this concise and more focused arc has a lot to delve into with regards to Ichigo’s character, some impactful twists, and how it shakes up the status quo of the manga until now. Listen to find out where this ranks for us amongst the bigger, flashier arcs that came...

Just like last time, we’re recommending each other our highest regarded ongoing series we think need more appreciated. This time Samu’s pick for Enzo is Fool Night by Kasumi Yasuda - a dystopian sci-fi story where clouds have prevented the sun from shining through and humans have adapted in horrifying ways to sustain life. Plenty of bleak, heavy themes ensue and we both get into what’s trying to b...

It’s Enzo’s time to recommend a series, and it was his pick for the most underappreciated ongoing manga from earlier this year: Touge Oni - a historical fantasy series with big ideas, a strong trio at its core, and strong Mizukami comparisons. Will Samu love it near as much as Enzo does? Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - one of Enzo’s favourite ongoing titles 1:35 Harta magazine: a wonderful source f...

We’ve talked about plenty of shonen manga throughout our episodes, so we felt it made sense to finally breakdown the many magazines in which they come from: their histories, identities, and our favourites from each publication. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - understanding the full picture of shonen manga 1:59 Breaking down the magazine publication system 6:26 Weekly Shonen Jump - the biggest name...

In this second part of the Arrancar arc discussion we get into the Turn Back the Pendulum and Fake Karakura Town sections of the story, filled with: more backstory and more fights than ever before. Find out where this stacks up compared to Soul Society in our estimations. Timecodes: 0:00 Re-introduction - second half of the Arrancar arc 0:32 Turn Back the Pendulum sub-arc - a flashback to break up...

Enzo’s journey with Bleach continues, this time finally stepping into possibly the longest arc in shonen manga (or manga in general?). We’ve split this giant arc into two episodes, this first one covering everything including the Arrancar Invasion up to the end of Hueco Mundo. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - first of two episodes on the massive Arrancar arc 1:25 Is this the longest arc in all of ma...

We come to the end of the main Rurouni Kenshin series, the yet-to-be-properly-animated: Jinchu. Is this a case of the best arc saved for last? Does it serve as a fitting conclusion for the series? Will Enzo throw in another Kaijuu wall? Stay tuned to find out. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - the final arc of the main series that never got its anime adaptation 3:05 Jinchu being an opposite arc to Ky...

It’s the first series review of 2026 and it’s one Samu and Enzo had a similar introduction to with an excellent anime adaptation and decided to venture into the manga post-anime. A shoujo romance fantasy that takes unexpected turns the longer it goes on, but how much of it do we agree on? Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - our first experiences with Snow White with the Red Hair 9:44 Shirayuki and Zen’...

With the start of a new year we thought it best to highlight some of our favourite ongoing manga that deserve more love. We’ve put together a list of ten series we think are worth checking out in hopes that they can blow up, which perfectly summarise our tastes. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction - shouting out manga we love that deserve more love 2:04 Kemutai Hanashi by Fumiya Hanashi 5:47 Starting Tod...

What better way to kick off the year than by revisiting our favourite topic: What’s the next big thing in anime/manga? In this episode we revisit our picks from 2024 and go through our new ones for 2026. Timecodes: 0:00 Revisiting the topic: The Next Big Thing 3:25 Enzo’s #2 pick: Phantom Busters by Neoshoco 11:01 Samu’s #2 pick: Gokurakugai by Uto Sano 19:07 Checking in our preview picks for The...

Just like last year, we’re ending 2025 with a ‘best of’ episode, going through various categories to shout-out as many titles that we think deserve recognition and added to your recommendations if you aren’t already familiar. Happy new year! Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction to rules, carrying on from last year 1:14 Best new manga published in 2025 5:13 Best manga that finished in 2025 10:19 Best ong...

We’re covering Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu this week - a series both of us have followed since the manga’s debut. Our opinions might go against the mass opinion right now, as the series has reached new audience with its impressive anime adaptation. Check it out to see what we really think of the series, its origins, and its many characters. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - the kitchen sink action se...

We’re finally tackling a series close to Enzo’s own heart: The Dangers in My Heart by Norio Sakurai - a junior high rom-com and coming-of-age story of an introverted boy with sinister thoughts and the extraverted and most popular girl in the class; an unlikely but adorable pairing which has gotten even more popular thanks to well-received anime adaptation.. It’s finally time to get into it and see...

It’s the final serialisation round of the year for Weekly Shonen Jump, with three new series joining the party - Gonron Egg , The Mage Next Door , and Hero Girl and Demon Lord Call it Quits . We think this batch has some potential for commercial success, and a couple of entries that seem to be trying to expand beyond the usual Jump formula. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - our special guest this ep...

The Manga Taishō is one of the most prestigious awards a series can win, with plenty of future big-hitters gracing the shortlists every year. We decided to read all the winners of the decade so far (2020-2025) and give our takes on each and why we think they did win each year. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - Discussion Manga Taishō in the context of other manga awards 2:10 Rules of the Manga Tais...