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The Spring 2020 Manga Guide


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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1529
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:34 pm Reply with quote
I always find some gems with the seasonal manga reviews. I'm excited to see they're bck. Thank you!
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pharmboy23



Joined: 05 Oct 2018
Posts: 198
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:59 pm Reply with quote
I have to say I really liked the first volume of Kakishigoto quite a bit. It’s not Nozaki-kun or anything, but I had some very solid laughs out of it. And I never cared for Zetsubou-sensei all that much.

Something’s Wrong With Us, hoo boy. That was a train wreck of a book and while I could see some value in continuing to read it out of spite, it is no lie to say it was the worst manga I’ve read so far this year (and all of last year, come to that).
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 2064
Location: australia
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:06 pm Reply with quote
Yay, it's back. This is one of my favourite features.

Although I have 0 interest in After School Bitchcraft, I have a strange sort of respect for the name.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2660
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:31 pm Reply with quote
here-and-faraway wrote:
I always find some gems with the seasonal manga reviews. I'm excited to see they're bck. Thank you!


There are definitely some gems in what we're covering! As well as my new go-to guilty pleasure, but I'm not sure how everyone else's mileage will be with it. Laughing

pharmboy23 wrote:
I have to say I really liked the first volume of Kakishigoto quite a bit.


I'm not entirely sure why I didn't love this, because I was completely prepared to. Maybe I sat under the conference table at my dad's office a few too many times when I was little? (On purpose - he sometimes took my sisters and I to work to give Mom a break, and gave us toys to play with under the table to keep us occupied.) I guess it may be the one manga where our tastes diverge. Smile
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pharmboy23



Joined: 05 Oct 2018
Posts: 198
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I guess it may be the one manga where our tastes diverge.


It was bound to happen Laughing

I’m very excited to see the rest of the reviews - to echo the others, this is one of my favorite features on the site.
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R. Kasahara



Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 711
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:21 pm Reply with quote
Nice, always happy to see this feature return!

Sounds like a mixed bag so far (and disappointed that Something's Wrong With Us is so mediocre-- the basic premise intrigued me), but I'm looking forward to the rest of the reviews.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 10040
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:57 pm Reply with quote
the reviews of Kakishigoto make the humor sound like something from a 1950s situation comedy, I love Lucy for instance. Where the entire plot of an episode consists of Lucy doing something stupid and then making it much worse by trying to cover it up, complete with forced overreaction.

I think I may have to wait until this shows up at the book store (if it ever reopens) to checkit out before buying.

Something’s Wrong With Us sounds like something I wouldn't care for. I can't say the prior series by Ando did much for me either.
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1256
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:59 am Reply with quote
I can't remember why I picked up Afterschool Bitchcraft (probably something on Twitter) but I thought it was a fun read if nothing else. Maybe a 3/5.

Kakushigoto is one that I need to get around to, I like Kumeta's stuff.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16970
PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:30 pm Reply with quote
Honestly none of the manga so far are really garnering much interest for me. I had been interested in Afterschool Bitchcraft but it seems to not quite be sure yet if it wants to be more serious with the magic plot, or be a fanservice manga. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my T&A manga and shows. I just like to know what the show wants to focus on and be so I can set my expectations accordingly. I might check this out depending on the review, if there is one, for volume 2.

As for the rest...honestly a big ball of meh. Some seem to maybe have some promise like Kakushigoto or Knight of the Ice. I think Kakaushigoto would have more success if it made Hime out to be much more of an innocent and wide eyed character. As opposed to seemingly much more pragmatic and realistic. Then Kakushi's antics would have more meaning and reasoning behind them. Save that childhood innocence of his daughter. It would work better as well if it went the route of she secretly knew about his job because then his antics would garner more of a funny overreaction on his part for the reader. I'll probably wait until vol 2 reviews for each of them as well to see if they get fleshed out a bit more. I'm trying to not jump into as many manga series without a better inclination if I'll probably like them or not. Save money and all that.

I definitely will not be checking out Something's Wrong With Us. I don't mind the plot and the idea of Tsubaki being turned into this darker character by his own struggles. I wouldn't mind the over used plot device of the female MC trying to "fix" him and soothe the darkness. Trying to help him heal and forgiving past wrongs or him being cruel or mean to her. However, this shit head lied and her mother went to jail and is dead due to it. The ONLY reasonable plot device to her agreeing to his proposal and going back there is to get revenge and ruin him and his family. This to me sounds like it is setting itself up to be a situation where she not only forgives him, due to whatever reasoning they provide for the incident and him lying, but actually falls for him. After what happened to her mother to me that would be a rather distasteful route to go and would completely gloss over what happened to her mother. Especially since it seems to have affected her emotional to such a degree. So that gets a hard pass from me.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5959
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:42 pm Reply with quote
Psycho 101 wrote:
head lied and her mother went to jail and is dead due to it. The ONLY reasonable plot device to her agreeing to his proposal and going back there is to get revenge and ruin him and his family. This to me sounds like it is setting itself up to be a situation where she not only forgives him, due to whatever reasoning they provide for the incident and him lying, but actually falls for him.


I agree with you, the only decent route would be revenge. I am not too fond of this "everything can be forgiven trope". The characters cease being portrayals of real people. Who really truly forgives someone for committing horrible crimes, and then be friends or fall in love with them. Happy Tree Friends maybe, but not friends or lovers.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
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Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3019
PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:11 pm Reply with quote
Will Spy x Family make it into this season's manga guide? I'm not sure what season its English-language release is technically supposed to fall in (what with all the delays) but it's one of my favorite newer manga titles!
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2660
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 6:36 am Reply with quote
BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:
Will Spy x Family make it into this season's manga guide? I'm not sure what season its English-language release is technically supposed to fall in (what with all the delays) but it's one of my favorite newer manga titles!


Most Viz titles were casualties of the pandemic in terms of getting them to us in time for the Guide, but I'm going to try to review as many as would have been in it as I can in regular reviews, including that one!
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Sailor Sedna





PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:38 am Reply with quote
I'm definitely NOT checking out "I'm a Behemoth", because bestiality is oh so enjoyable and definitely sounds just as enjoyable as that old P.O.S. manga known as Kennel Tokorozawa Rolling Eyes

Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition actually sounds interesting somewhat though, and definitely not what I was thinking it might be based upon the description.

UPDATE: Actually, I do have to agree with Psycho 101 though, most of the manga this year just seem lackluster so far, and I haven't checked out a lot of anime (I also find it quite poppycock that Interspecies Reviewer got rated above Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Confused)...


Last edited by Sailor Sedna on Thu Jun 04, 2020 11:02 am; edited 1 time in total
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WizardOfOss



Joined: 19 Jun 2018
Posts: 98
Location: Oss, Netherlands
PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 3:39 pm Reply with quote
Wave, Listen to Me is my favorite anime of this season, but in large part that is because of the fabulous voice acting of Sugiyama Riho as Minare. The same thing as a manga? I'm not really surprised about those rather mediocre reviews.

Kakushigoto on the other hand I can see work pretty well as a manga, but I'm good with the anime. None of the other titles so far seem interesting to me.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3588
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:18 pm Reply with quote
I'll definitely be checking out "I'm a Behemoth", and of course the novel version from YenOn later, as I've been following the fan-translation of it. Of the others up now, perhaps I'll check out Kakushigoto.
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