Short Takes: Case Closed, Slam Dunk, and Waq Waq

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This week’s column is all about shonen manga. First up: volume thirty of Case Closed (VIZ), a detective series about a first grader who solves gruesome murders. Next on the agenda is volume five of Takehiko Inoue’s best-selling Slam Dunk (VIZ), a sports manga about a flame-haired rebel who takes up basketball to impress a [...]

Short Takes: Black Bird, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Ludwig II

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This week’s Short Takes column focuses on three very different comics. The first, Black Bird (VIZ), is a supernatural tale about a young girl whose flesh is as prized among demons as Kobe beef is among salarymen. The second, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Bandai Entertainment), is a one-volume adaptation of the 2006 film [...]

Short Takes: The Big Adventures of Majoko, The Magic Touch and The Manzai Comics

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With the Fourth of July right around the corner, I decided to keep things light and sparkly here at The Manga Critic by reviewing three humorous shojo titles: The Big Adventures of Majoko (UDON Entertainment), an all-ages title about an inept witch; The Magic Touch (VIZ), a comedy about a group of high school students [...]

Short Takes: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Oishinbo A la Carte: Japanese Cuisine

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This week’s Short Takes examines two manga aimed at adult audiences. (Notice I didn’t say “adult manga,” which is a different kettle of fish altogether, and not the sort of thing I typically review. Just sayin’.) The first is The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Dark Horse), a macabre series about a five oddballs who work [...]

Short Takes: Black Jack, Fire Investigator Nanase, and Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit

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Last year, I made a major lifestyle change: I gave up television. My decision wasn’t motivated by disdain for reality shows or Lenten piety, but by the fact I was spending too much time engrossed in The Daily Show, Project Runway, Clean House, and Battlestar Galactica and not enough time reading, running, or practicing my [...]

Short Takes: Genghis Khan and Venus Capriccio

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Much as I love composing in-depth reviews, the sheer number of new releases makes it impossible for even the most ambitious critic to give every interesting series the 800-word treatment. In an effort to stay abreast of current titles, therefore, I’ll be posting a regular column that offers more concise assessments of new and noteworthy [...]