Manga Mavericks

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Hey, CX, out of curiosity are you guys ever planning to do any episodes dedicated to certain mangaka (such as Tezuka, Takehiko, Urasawa, Togashi, etc.)? I'd love to listen to something like that.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Here's a question for you guys. When Nisekoi and Toriko end (or Bleach does), what would you each like to see replace them in the North American version?

These are the series running in Jump that would probably fill their places:

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Blade of Demon Destruction
Samon the Summoner
Straighten Up! Welcome to Shika High's Competitive Dance Club
Takuan and Batsu's Daily Demon Diary
Mononofu

I imagine Yuna has no chance since they skipped the Jump Start.

It might be an interesting topic to see what you guys might want, or not want to see at all.

Thanks for the question!  That's going to be pretty timely considering that one of those is bound to be replaced before the end of the summer...

Personally, I'm expecting Haikyuu to be the first replacement series. The series has been an established and popular anime over here for a while, and Viz is really pushing it's volume releases hard, so they clearly have a lot of confidence in it. And while they'll be starting 200+ chapters in, they've added series to Jump despite a gap in english available content before (Nisekoi, Food Wars, and My Hero Academia all come to mind), so I don't see that dissuading them.

Hey, CX, out of curiosity are you guys ever planning to do any episodes dedicated to certain mangaka (such as Tezuka, Takehiko, Urasawa, Togashi, etc.)? I'd love to listen to something like that.

We have plans for that! We're still trying to schedule things out so we can do more topic-focused episodes this summer, and I definitely want to do a mangaka-specific one soon. For our first mangaka-specific episode, we'll probably try and do someone whose work we're both already very well versed in, so I imagine Toriyama, Togashi, Ohba & Obata, or Junji Ito would probably be first up. Though, I really want to spotlight lesser known/underappreciated mangaka like Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Shigeru Mizuki, and Kyoko Okazaki, among others, at some point as well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Good point about Haikyuu!! Though I guess I didn't think about it since AC was also licensed by Viz and was never run in the magazine, but Haikyuu!! is in a much different situation since sports series don't traditionally sell well and they might try to get as many people interested in it as possible.

But that's also one of them! There's still two other potential additions if all three series are done by the end of 2016. Though I doubt Bleach will be over by then, it's still clearly rounding the bend toward the ending.

[LumRanmaYasha]

In AC's case I think Viz didn't add it because they felt they already had enough series on their plate each week and didn't have the time and resources to add it to the regular lineup. If something had ended in Jump while it was still running, they probably would have put it in, but that opportunity didn't come.

It's going to be interesting to see how the english Jump's lineup will change with so many long running and popular series coming to an end soon. It's really anyone's guess what they'll decide to put in, since they all could be justified. Colton and I should have a good discussion about it for sure.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Episode 10! This week we discuss the Oricon Top Selling Manga and Light Novels lists for the first half of 2016, Seven Seas' newest licenses, and the upcoming Jump Giga magazine's debut lineup. Plus, we make some announcements for future episodes of the show!

[Spark Of Spirit]

Good answers to the questions! Haikyuu and Kimetsu no Yaiba are probably the most likely choices, I'd agree. Though I do agree that I could see Straighten Up licensed eventually, but I don't see it in the magazine at this point.

I look forward to your Matsui episode when you get to it.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to doing the Matsui episode too. He's a very eclectic storyteller and artist, and should be a lot of fun to discuss.

[LumRanmaYasha]

We finally read Tokyo Ghoul...

[Spark Of Spirit]

So what was the Nisekoi rant like?

If it doesn't end soon, it will be canceled. It's sales are not there and it's been ranking last in Jump with Toriko almost consistently. It's bad enough Bleach has been given so many chances, but at least it still sells.

[LumRanmaYasha]

We plan to make the rant available in some form over the weekend. I'm the one doing most of the ranting, if that gives you any clue about the content.

Nisekoi is clearly ending soon, though. Komi's wrapped up every loose end. All that's left is for Raku to declare his choice.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I listened to part of your Tokyo Ghoul episode. I liked the bit where you guys went over Nobuhiro Watsuki's works. I pretty much agree with everything you said about him as a mangaka. I'm really hoping for his next work to tap into that source of magic which he had when he worked on Rurouni Kenshin.

I haven't actually read Tokyo Ghoul, but based on what I heard about it from the podcast (and from my impressions based on previews), it doesn't really seem like my cup of tea. The grimdark action and/or horror style manga rarely ever work for me. Parasyte was certainly good and one of the few exceptions, but I've kind of been burned out on Attack on Titan, and I'm not sure if I'd feel any differently about Tokyo Ghoul.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I saw a handful of the show, and it had a few interesting ideas muddled by questionable writing and an ending that went absolutely nowhere.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It was a good idea picking a specific topic to talk about. It made the second half more cohesive. I wouldn't mind hearing more like that.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I haven't actually read Tokyo Ghoul, but based on what I heard about it from the podcast (and from my impressions based on previews), it doesn't really seem like my cup of tea. The grimdark action and/or horror style manga rarely ever work for me. Parasyte was certainly good and one of the few exceptions, but I've kind of been burned out on Attack on Titan, and I'm not sure if I'd feel any differently about Tokyo Ghoul.

Yeah, if you didn't care for the gratuitous violence and unnecessarily over-the-top parts of Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul probably won't be your thing. Though, I do find it has some interesting character developments and some good ideas explored in it that made it worth finally trying it. 

I saw a handful of the show, and it had a few interesting ideas muddled by questionable writing and an ending that went absolutely nowhere.

Pretty much, though it's worth pointing out that the second season of the anime deviates heavily from the manga and becomes it's own thing, and the second half of the manga itself is significantly better written on the whole.

It was a good idea picking a specific topic to talk about. It made the second half more cohesive. I wouldn't mind hearing more like that.

We're definitely trying to focus on discussion topics more going forward. We still want to cover news of course - that's the podcast's M.O. - but there's many other aspects of the manga industry, series, and creators that we want to address in the show going forward.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'd actually like to hear you both talk about Rurouni Kenshin a bit more. You both mentioned it was one of your favorite series, so it would be cool to hear you both talk about why that is. Favorite arc? Favorite character? Moment? Villain? And as a bonus question: Do you think Watsuki will ever be able to top it?