From: currmann@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Curtis Hoffmann)
Subject: Manga Listings and Reviews
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Reply-To: doi@jrd.dec.com
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Japan, R&D center
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 22:33:45 GMT
X-Mts: smtp

                       Manga Listings and Reviews


   Copyrighted October 311992, by Curtis H. Hoffmann.
   Permission is granted to cross-post this file in whole to other
computer networks (in fact, I'd be very happy if someone would crosspost
this to Fido.)  This file may be re-printed in a fanzine or newsletter
as long as I'm notified, in exchange for a copy of the issue this
article appears in.  This article can not be altered, or re-printed in a
for-profit magazine, without permission.


   This is an attempt to kind of catalog the weekly and monthly manga
serials, and identify which stories are in the manga that *I* at least
think are worth reading.  Most of the stories are real crap, and I
believe them to be ignorable.  Since most of the titles are in kanji
(and I can't read them without a dictionary) I will only list the titles
that I consider worthwhile, or noteworthy (and CAN read.)

   A couple of things to mention:

   Boxing Promoter Don King is a common target in some of the manga
featuring boxers.  In one, he is known as "Bob King."  He's usually
portrayed as either a bad guy, or the promoter for the evil opponent.
(Iain, I don't know the actual titles to the manga where this occurs,
because they're not the type of story I'm interested in.  Maybe the
next time I find an example, I'll translate the title if it's not in
kanji I can't already recognize.)

   There is a class of stories exemplified by Be-Bop-Highschool (and
Rokudenashi Blues,) that is essentially about disaffected high school
boys.  The heroes can not last more than 2 pages without flying into
major rages, and then getting into fist fights.  The characters can all
be identified by their over-glued hair styles, sneers, and apathy over
anything other than rumbling and sneering (even sex is pretty much a
waste of energy.)
   The main reason for mentioning this class of stories is that there
are a large number of students in Sapporo that look like they have just
stepped out of this kind of manga.  They have a serious attitude
problem, and are the most difficult type of person for a gaijin to deal
with, since gaijin are also considered contemptable.  However, I'm told
that this phase is no longer considered fashionable in Tokyo, where it
seems to have died out.  (But these stories are still very popular, and
there is at least one anime movie based on them -- it was playing at
theaters this last June.)

   Manga can not really be given a good, simple description for trying
to categorize it.  In the book shops, it is often in the section titled
"KOMIKKU" (or "Comics").  The art style can be very detailed, realistic,
or ugly.  The stories can be simple gags based on toilet humor, or very
sophisticated plot lines that encompass murder mysteries, or soap
operas.  The main characters can be sushi chefs, food critics, soccer
stars, bored little girls, sluts, punks, gorillas, monkeys, wizards,
swordsmen, or monsters.  The feel of the artwork can be decidedly
Western, East Indian, or pure Japanese.
   But there are certain elements that do show up more often than
others.  Sitcoms generally involve families, high school punk stories
have lots of gang fights and one-on-one brawls, any story containing
magic will either be a martial arts chop suey western, or low fantasy
(ala Dungeon and Dragons.)  If the main characters play a sport, they
will be the underdog, and constantly at odds with someone from another
team.  The sports include basketball (very popular), golf, baseball
(extremely popular), Judo, Sumo, and soccer (tennis also appears, but
not much.)
   Any gag strip will be dependent on the dialog, or will be purely
visual humor where humiliating sex, or shit, plays an important role.
Most of the gag strips are pretty bad, as are the "adult" strips.  The
adult manga usually have a minimal story line, and are as likely to
feature lesbian encounters between high school girls, as there are violent
attacks by the male hero on some available woman (who of course will
enjoy the encounter by the end.)  The adult stories are usually clumped
together in adult manga, and do not show up often in non-porno manga.
(There may be a few breast shots, and some implied sex, but the really
graphic stuff is reserved more for the adult mags, of which there are
many.)

   In my opinion, most manga can be safely ignored without the
possibility of missing anything interesting.  If you have lots of spare
time and cash, feel free to actively seek this stuff out yourself.
   But, this is where I may call something a "shrug manga" -- I shrug it
off as containing nothing much.

   However, I have admittedly excluded nearly everything that would be
considered "girl's manga."  This is partly because I don't have the
interest, or the money.  But really, it's because I don't have the time.
I leave it to someone else to fill in the gaps they uncover.

   The numbers that show up in parathensis are simply the issues that I
was able to get my hands on.  More for my own reference than anything else.
But, all of these issues came from "gomi hunting" (I got them after they'd
been thrown away.)  If nothing else, this may be an indication as to
which publications are more popular than others (the more issues I find,
the more popular the manga may be.)


Action Weekly (#30, 31, 36, 39, 44)
-------------
Crayon Shin-Chan           Kiddies badly drawn manga.
Dr. Typhoon                Off-beat golf pro story.


Asahi Magazine (Oct. 22)
--------------
This is a men's magazine, with some sex manga and one badly-drawn,
continuing story about the Yakusa.  Ignorable.


Betsucomi (#9)
---------
                           Girl's manga.  Mostly like all the other girl's
                           manga.
Banana Fish                One of the more popular stories.  Mildly
                           interesting, with decent (prettified) artwork.


Betsufure (#9)
---------
Girl's manga.  Young love stories.  Lanky, pretty guys, and huge eyes.


Big Comic (Comic for Men) (#13 -- 17, 19 -- 21)
-------------------------
Medusa                     Not sure of the story, by Silent Service artist
Hotel                      As featured in Mangajin
Golgol 13


Big Comic Original (#14, 15, 17 -- 21)
------------------
Master Keaton              Detective-style story, art by Yawara! artist


Big Comic Spirits Weekly (#25 -- 27, 31, 32, 34 -- 42, 44, 46, 47)
------------------------
Yawara!                    The judo classic.
Oishinbo                   The Gourmet Critic story covered by Mangajin
                           NOTE: BCS seems to be shuffling its manga
                                 around.  There are several new stories
                                 in the latest issue, and some of the older
                                 stories are gone (including Watanabe.)


Big Comic Superior (#15, 17, 19 -- 22)
-------------------
Sanctuary                  The original, partially translated by VIZ
5 x 4P                     Short stories by Touch artist (not in #19)
Prince                     Interesting police procedural story.
Handsome Woman             Sort of like Pineapple Army, but with a female
                           kendo expert as the hero.  Good art.  Started
                           in #21.


Bouquet (#7 -- 9)
-------
                           Girl's manga.  The artwork is often very good,
                           but none of the stories really stand out.  The
                           usual stuff about young love, broken
                           relationships, lost dreams, sex, and passion.


Bull (#17)
----
Magazine apparently about, and for, the Yakusa.  Lots of articles and text
stories.  A couple manga.

Bones                      A rather well-drawn Yakusa story.  Not sure about
                           the quality of the plot, yet.


Business Jump  (#17, 18, 20, 22, 23)
-------------
Mildly interesting, but nothing really outstanding

> Iain comments:
> ! ! ! Besides Gunnm and Natsuki Crisis.  And my personal preference,
> Bounty Hunter THE HARD!!  The Hard is another T.Saruwatari monstrosity,
> probably the most violent thing I've seen in manga.  I could write
> reams about it, but I'll post a translation first and then see what
> other people think.
>
> There's also Amai Seikatsu, which I find notable because I don't
> normally read H stuff, much less enjoy it.
>
> BJ manga seem to be even more extreme and explicit than YJ manga.
> Further, #19 will be a Saruwatari special.


Comic Tomu: Comic For New Young (#10)
-------------------------------
                           Mixed boys and girls manga stories
Metal Hunters D            SF shoot-em-up from the creator from Grey and
                           Horobi (Yoshihisa Tagami)

Cosopu (or Conpu) Comic
-----------------------
Silent Mobius


Gakoma SF & Fantasy (#3, 4)
-------------------
                           A quarterly magazine.  Both issues had features on
                           the Super Cat Girl OAV.  A fair amount of good
                           stuff.

Blue Seed                  Yuzou Takada and Studio Room.  Manga ala 3x3 Eyes,
                           with a bad-ass Yakumo.
Fantasia                   By Akane Nagano.  Story and art ala Neko de gomen.


Getsu Shonen Magazine (September)
---------------------
Nothing


Golf Comic (#12)
----------
A collection of golf manga.  Nothing outstanding, but probably very
informative if you can understand the dialog.


Golf Digest Weekly (#34, 37)
------------------
                           Magazine dedicated to statistics, players, tips,
                           and techniques.  Has one manga story as well,
                           but the title is in kanji.


Golgo 13 (#86)
--------
Magazine dedicated to Golgo 13 stories.


Manga Goraku (Manga Amusements) (#1312, 1317, 1319 -- 1325)
------------------
                           The standard collection of mystic samurai, sex
                           strips, and Japanese drama.
?????????                  The only manga really worth noting is one with
                           some obscure kanji in the title.  It's kind of
                           a Mission Impossible intrigue story with
                           character designs that are a cross between
                           Yawara! and Gogol 13.  Very dialog heavy.
                           Seems to have ended around #1323.

Grand Champion (#1)
--------------
Nothing Much


Honto ni Atta (some kanji == Really Scary Stories) (#1)
-------------
Another horror manga aimed at young girls, with articles describing the
currently popular TV personalities as well.  Nothing outstanding.


Manga Time (#143)
----------
Children's magazine, with lots of bathroom and sex humor.  No graphic sex,
though.


Margaret (Betsuma) (#8 -- 10)
------------------
Girl's manga.  Interesting art, but nothing outstanding.


Midori (#10)
------
Young women's magazine.  Lots of stories concerning pretty men, and
graphic sex.  Nowhere near the same amount of violence as in the men's
sex manga.


Mikosuri (plus some kanji) (#14)
--------------------------
Lots of gag strips about sex.  (No real continuing stories)


Mister Magazine (Mr.) (#16, Oct. 22)
---------------------
Marukajira! Teyandei Baby    This is an interesting little series, with half
                             of the October issue dedicated to it.  Basically,
                             a young Yazuka, in a public bath house, is
                             smitten by another guy also taking a bath.  But,
                             through a series of slapstick accidents, the
                             Yakuza dies, and comes back as the baby of the
                             other guy and that guy's wife.  It's a rather
                             funny story, based on _Look Who's Talking_.


Monday Afternoon (Have only seen this in some stores)
----------------
Gun Smith Cats               A great series by the creator of the _Riding
                             Bean_ anime.


???????? Mystery (#5)
----------------
   This is one odd-ball manga, if that's what you're looking for.  It's
a horror collection for young women, featuring violent sex,
dismemberment, burying of live babies for fertilizer, and other very
graphic forms of death.  Something of a shocker, if you're not expecting it.
None of the stories seem to be from continuing serials, though.


Nandemeari (#10)
----------
Lots of gag strips about sex and ninjas.  No real stories.


Nora
----
Nervous Breakdown          By artist of Grey and Horobi


Onna (Something) Senbun (#37)
-----------------------
                           This is mainly a woman's magazine, with articles
                           on food, night life, improving sex, and famous
                           people.  It has two manga stories -- one is a
                           girl's romance involving office ladies.  The other
                           is the first cooking manga I've seen aimed
                           directly at women, with housewife stars.  Nothing
                           really outstanding, though.


Pachinker (#7)
---------
Magazine "for Panchinker."
Nothing really interesting.


Pachinko Club (#9)
-------------
Another pachinko manga.  Some of the stories are sillier than those in
the other pachinko magazines.


Pachinko 777  (#43)
------------
Still nothing worth paying much attention to.


Pachislow Comic (#9)
---------------
Magazine dedicated to Pachinko manga.  Ignorable, unless you really like
Pachinko.  Some graphic sex.


Pop Teen (#9, 10)
--------
A teenage girls' magazine, with lots of photos, and a variety of articles.
Some of the topics include giving birth, sex, bi-sexual guys, and there's
even a few games (like folding the pages to show a cartoon couple having
sex, and finding the hidden nude guys in a picture of a zoo.)
Out                        The one manga story.  A girls' manga about
                           family life.  Mildly interesting.


Post
----
An adult variety magazine with some manga: Ignorable.


Purei (Play) Comic (#17, 18, 21)
------------------
Another men's manga.  Largely ignorable.


Pureto Booto  (In Katakana)
------------
An adult variety magazine with some manga: mostly ignorable.


Reed Comic (Men's Magazine) (#554, 56?, 579)
----------
Midori                     Rip-off of Yawara!, with golf-playing girl.
                           The artwork is wildly variable, but the story
                           is more-or-less ok.  Was missing from #579
Silent World               Cheap SF, looks like Gogol 13 artwork


Shonen Champion (#33, 36, 37, 39 -- 44, 47)
---------------
                           There are one or two stories in here of mild
                           interest.  I just noticed _34 Rounojijou_ in
                           issue 41, and it's a silly high school story
                           with some influences from _Dragon Half._
                           Don't buy this manga, if you can simply read it
                           at the store instead.
Oshioki Girl Goota-man     This is kind of a high school girl super hero
                           series, with artwork designed to appeal to
                           the hentai among you.  No sex so far, but the
                           pictures are pretty good.


Shonen Jump (#23, 25 -- 27, 29 -- 32, 34 -- 42, 45 -- 49)
-----------
Dragon Ball Z              Basis for the TV series
Rokudenashi Blues          Punk High Schoolers
Dragon Quest: New Series   Slightly better than the stories in the TV series
Magical Tarurouto-kun      (Ended with #42)
Video Girl Len             (Story ended with #30 or so)
Shojo no Kisetsu:          Translates to _Girl's Season_, created by the
         Summer Dream      author of City Hunter and Cat's Eye.  Seems
                           to be an intact story about the dreams of a
                           woman in a coma.  Beautiful artwork.  Only in #40.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure   Strange story, kind of growing on me.
Chibi                      Adventures of a small boy who suffers ridicule
                           and beatings, which prompts him to take up
                           boxing.
GS Mikami                  AKA: Ghost Story Mikami.  As the title indicates,
                           there are ghosts.  The main three characters --
                           the female group leader, a female ghost, and a
                           high school boy -- fight evil spirits.  The art
                           is pretty good, the stories get a little strange,
                           and the characters are interesting.  By Takashi
                           Shiina.
Hentai Kamen               New title starting with #42.  Translates to
                           "Masked Pervert."  About a high school student
                           who rescues a girl being harrassed by bullies.
                           When the same girl is held hostage by bank
                           robbers, the boy sneaks into the bank to again
                           rescue her.  In the process, he uses a pair of
                           panties as a mask, which gives him great powers.
                           Note: His father is Dirty Harry, and his mother
                           is a whip queen in an S&M parlor.
The Outer Zone             A badly drawn version of the Twilight Zone, and
                           Outer Limits.  Not very good, but rather popular.

NOTE: As of issue 40, Shonen Jump is introducing some new serials.  I'm
      not interested in any of the stories being dropped, or added, so
      can't say anything on the matter either way.  But, I'm not impressed,
      either.


Shonen Magazine Weekly (#26, 29, 33 -- 48)
----------------------
Koutarou Makaritooru       Second word means "push ones way through."  It's
                           the name of the major male martial artist.  This
                           story is a fairly straight-forward martial arts
                           combat good-guys/bad-guys concept.  But the art
                           is good, and the character designs are fun in a
                           way.
Kindaichi Shonen no        This is a modern re-telling of the Phantom of
   Jikenho: Opera          the Opera story, with Kindaichi as the chief
   Zakansatsu-jin Jiken    clue-smith.  The characters are visiting an old
                           opera house, and are dying one by one.  Kindaichi
                           recognizes the pattern as that from the famous
                           movie.  The artwork is pretty good as is the
                           story.  (Started with #45.)


Shonen Magazine Monthly (10, 11)
-----------------------
Who Is Fuou?               A silly little manga with 2 big, gangly, vicious
                           girls, and the cute little transforming boy they
                           try to defend.  Rather interesting; good art.
                           Was only in #10.


Shonen Sunday (#21 -- 24, 26, 30 -- 42, 44 -- 47)
-------------
Ranma 1/2
Ushio and Tora             A boy, his spear, and his "pet"  killer beast
Twinkle Twinkle Idol Star  A boy and girl as two female Idol singers
Patlabor                   Giant robot police force
H2                         New series about baseball and soccer, from the
                           creator of Slow Step and Touch.  (July 29, 92)


Super Jump (#12, 19, 20)
----------
Nothing major


Super Hamaguri (#8)
--------------
                           Kind of above average adult magazine.  Has the
                           standard sex, ninja, and intrigue stories, but
                           the artwork for some of the manga isn't that
                           bad.  (Hamaguri == A clam.)


Weekly Morning (#33, 37 -- 48)
--------------
Silent Service             Very good political comment/military soap
Cooking Papa               TV series, about a big guy that cooks w/ recipes
OL                         Office Lady, examples appear in Mangajin
Ah, Harima-nada            Sumo wrestling, also was a TV anime series
GON                        IS> The original dialogue-free manga.  GON is
                           IS> not a gag strip.  It's about a very bizarre,
                           IS> intense dinosaur who involves himself with
                           IS> other animal communities.
                           CH> I finally saw this in issue #45, and I agree
                           CH> with Iain's comments.  It is pretty funny,
                           CH> with great artwork.
Reggie                     A silly, over-blown baseball manga featuring a
                           super-muscular version of Reggie Jackson.
Des Francais A Paris       New with issue 45 (maybe just a one-shot.  Photo
                           gags ala National Lampoon.  Running dialog, and
                           some sex jokes.


Weekly Sunday (#42)
-------------
Nothing


Weekly Manga Times (Manga for Men) (Nov. 6)
-------------------------
Sex and adventure.  Nothing outstanding.


Young Afternoon (I have yet to see a copy of this.)
---------------
No comments


Young Animal (#8, 12)
------------
Kyokaku                    Another story by Tagami Yoshihisa, creator of
                           Grey and Horobi.  Not in #12.


Young Champion (17, 18, 22)
--------------
Pure Shiteru Ne!           A badly drawn rip-off of Kia Asamiya's characters,
                           preparing to get laid with each other.  Up to
                           installment 19.


Young Jump Weekly (16, 24, 26, 29 -- 31, 33, 35, 38, 39, 41 -- 49)
------------------ Iain Sinclair's favorite -- The comments are his.
Kujaku-Oh TS       < Both these mangas are pretty violent and full of
Oss!! Karatebu     < obscure cultural references, but highly rewarding.
Damned             <Fairly newish title which gets better with every episode.
B.B.Fish
                   <I notice that YJ seems to have either scrapped or moved
                   <most of its more repugnant stuff (Mazin Saga, Aoki Honoo)
                   <and replaced it with different repugnant stuff.   In any
                   <case, YJ contains violence, violence, sex, and more
                   <violence, so if that doesn't appeal to you, stay clear
                   <(but you'll be missing out on some good titles).

                   (Curtis comments: After reading Iain's comments, I
                   grabbed a few issues (#36 -- 39).  Kujaku-Oh TS
                   was missing.  Damned and Oss!! Karatebu have been done
                   before, and they do nothing for me.  But B.B.Fish looks
                   to be an ok girl's manga-style story.  Cherry's Debut
                   looked more promising (reminiscent of Video Girl Ai, but
                   not drawn quite as well (story in #39 only.)  And
                   _Hen_ has an interesting style for its character
                   designs.  This is still a "shrug" magazine to me.  None
                   of the artwork is all that outstanding, and the stories
                   feel too derivative.  I recommend Shonen Sunday and
                   Shonen Jump, instead.

Shonen Ashibe      Simply-drawn kiddie manga.  Is a TV series.


Young King (#10, 17, 22)
----------
Nothing much


Young Magazine Monthly (#11)
----------------------
Nothing


Young Magazine Weekly (#21 -- 23, 26, 27, 30 -- 32, 34, 36 -- 38, 40, 42 --44,
---------------------   46, 47, 49)
Be-Bop-Highschool
3x3 Eyes                   (Missing from #38)
Shirow's Hyper World       #26, 27.  A couple Ghost in the Shell Installments


Young Sunday (Biweekly) (#11, 14, 18, 22)
-----------------------
Ooi Ryouma                 The kendo samurai; is an animated series.
?? ?? Yarou                New series from the artist of Yawara.  #2 showed
                           up in issue 22.


Young You (#8) (Monthly "Comic for Girls")
---------
                           Standard girl's manga.  Nothing really outstanding.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Specialty magazines.
   There are a number of magazines that cater to specific interests, but
whose titles are all in kanji (therefore, I can't read them easily.)  I
mention the Pachinko manga above.  Here, I'll briefly describe the
others.

   Horse racing.  So far, I have only found one magazine dedicated to
horse racing, featuring mainly stats on horses, jockies, and race
results.  It contains one manga story about office ladies that bet at
the tracks.

   Mahjongg.  So far, I've seen three magazines dedicated to this subject.
The first consists of only one really long manga about an undefeatable
mahjongg player -- Shoichi.  In the first chapter, he plays his father
who, after being defeated, dies of a heart attack.  Shoichi then howls in
agony for a few pages.  The artwork is very good, although there's way too
much specialized dialog for me to follow the story.  But, the author
teaches a lot of game strategy, and even goes so far as to instruct
readers on how to hold the tiles in different ways to make them snap when
played on the board.  The stories in this issue revolve mainly around
gambling for high stakes in expensive hotel rooms.
   If someone else can add more info concerning this magazine/manga,
please do so.  Personally, I think someone else should tackle the job of
translating a chapter or two, to let fans know what this story is like.
   The second magazine is more of a collection in the adult manga vein,
with different stories all about mahjongg, and sex.  Some of the stories
are ok, but I'm not going to spend money buying these mags.
   The third is just a bunch of Mah Jongg stories in a variety of art
styles, and gag set-ups.  The title is all in kanji, again.

   Women's Magazines.  There are a number of magazines like McCalls,
Cosmopolitan, etc, that are aimed at women and cover topics like
cooking, sewing, clothing repairs, fashion, and so on.  However, the
ones in Japan also have one or two manga each.  These manga are usually
the shojo type, and may include young love, romance, rape, and graphic
sex.

   Car Racing.  However, most of these magazines don't include manga.
They concentrate on car specs, hints on tuning engines, overhauling,
etc.  The only manga I have seen concentrated on how-to tips for engine
care.

========================================================================

Other stuff:

   Interon Depot #1:  A collection of color manga works from Masamune
Shirow. (Comicborne)  Contact Manga-Chan about mail ordering your copy
from Japan.

   Shirow's Hyper World, which ran in Young magazine for about 4 issues,
consisted of some _Ghost in the Shell_ installments, using the character
design for Ghost that was last seen at the end of the Ghost in the Shell
book.  (Ie. -- the reincarnation.)

   Spriggman, the manga that has been translated as _Stryker_ by VIZ, is
usually found in the Girl's Manga sections throughout Japan.

   If you are going to spend time in Japan watching TV, you may want to
check out (Za two-stars) TV Weekly.  This is simply a weekly listing of
TV shows, with highlights on the specials.  However, It also runs color
photos of most anime programs, which lets you check for specials and
movies at a glance.

========================================================================

NOTE: Since I can only get RAM messages via Hitoshi Doi, and I don't see
      him more than once every two or three weeks (I don't have any kind
      of access to Internet myself, and I'm currently buried in the
      heart of Tokyo,) some of my errors will be repeated 1 or 2 times
      before I can read your replies and incorporate any fixes in the
      next version of the file.  Suffice it to say that I'm happy with
      your feedback, and I owe Enrique Conty and Iain Sinclair for their
      corrections and assistance.


                               -- Curtis H. Hoffmann
                                  Sept. 12, 1992

Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga