Berserk’s Kentaro Miura

Image of Guts sitting with his back against the scenery and his sword beside him.

I’ve been sitting here starting a blinking cursor for a while now, trying to put words to paper on the passing of Kentaro Miura, the creator of the famed manga Berserk. I don’t think I can put it any better than what I’ve already said in my article “Kentaro Miura & Berserk: Finding Hope in Insurmountable Darkness” for Funimation. But write-ups for other websites come with things like word counts, so here’s a little more on my experience with Berserk and the passing of one of the great creators of our time.

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#MangaMonday – How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? by Yabico Sandrovich and MAAM

How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1
By: Yabico Sandrovich
Illustrator: MAAM (Illustrator); Courtney Williams (Lettering)
Translator: Wesley O'Donnell (Translator); Samn Mitchell (Adaptation)
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Publisher: Seven Seas
Series: How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


With an anime adaptation released at nearly the same time, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Vol. 1 by Yabako Sandrovich and MAAM was a contemporary manga that certainly didn’t escape notice. Sakura is a teenager who loves food but doesn’t love her waistline. When she begins going to the gym, she finds student council president Akemi there as well. The duo quickly go from awkward and unsure to gym buddies under the tutelage of their trainer, Machio.

Review – The Moe Manifesto: An Insider’s Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming by Patrick W. Galbraith

The Moe Manifesto The Moe Manifesto: An Insider’s Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming
By: Patrick W. Galbraith
Release Date: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Rating:


If a look at moe and anime culture is something you’re interested in, The Moe Manifesto: An Insider’s Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming by Patrick W. Galbraith is book you’ll want to flip through. Galbraith holds a PhD in Information Studies while pursuing a second PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Several other anime and manga nonfiction books have been authored by him as well.

#MangaMonday Review – Given, Vol. 2 by Natuski Kizu

Given Vol. 2 by Natsuki Kizu Given Vol. 2
By: Natsuki Kizu
Illustrator: Natsuki Kizu (illustrations); Sabrina Heep (Touch-up Art & Lettering)
Translator: Sheldon Drzka
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Publisher: SuBLime
Series: Given
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Published for the first time in English in February 2020, Given is a series that has quickly climbed to the top of my ‘I need to read every volume right now’ list. Given, Vol. 2 by Natsuki Kizu is a fantastic second volume of an un-put-down-able series that received an anime adaptation in 2019 and is available to watch on Crunchyroll and VRV.

#MangaMonday – Given, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Kizu

Given, Vol. 1
By: Natsuki Kisu
Illustrator: Natsuki Kisu (illustrations); Sabrina Heep (Touch up art & lettering)
Translator: Sheldon Drzka
Release Date: February 11, 2020
Publisher: VIZMedia: SuBLime
Series: Given
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Given, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Kizu is a phenomenal new series manga fans will absolutely want to pick up. This is a BL slice of life story about Ritsuka Uenoyama and Mafuyu Sato, an un-put-down-able series that received an anime adaptation in 2019 and is available to watch on Crunchyroll and VRV.

#MangaMonday Review – Downfall by Inio Asano

Downfall Inio Asano Downfall
By: Inio Asano
Illustrator: Inio Asano
Translator: Jocelyn Allen
Release Date: February 18, 2020`
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Where do you go after you finish the greatest work of your life? What lies past the completion of your life’s work? How do you find it? How do you live up to the world’s expectations, let alone your own? These are the questions poised within Downfall by Inio Asano, the Eisner nominated author of the series Solanin and Goodnight Punpun. This is a single-volume manga as opposed to the much more common series length manga works.

#MangaMonday Review – Wave, Listen to Me! by Hiroaki Samura

Wave, Listen to Me! Vol. 1
By: Hiroaki Samura
Illustrator: Hiroaki Samura (Illustrations); Darren Smith (Lettering)
Translator: Adam Hirsch
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Publisher: Kodansha
Series: Wave, Listen to Me!
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


If you have been enjoying anime’s Spring 2020 season, you might be interested in the first volume of manga series Wave Listen to Me! by Hiroaki Samura, whose previous series include Blade of the Immortal and Die Wegelder.

#MangaMonday Review – Levius/est Vol 1

Levius/est Vol 1
By: Haruhisa Nakata
Illustrator: Haruhisa Nataka
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Series: Levius/est #1
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Direct sequel to the manga Levius, Haruhisa Nakata’s Levius/est Vol. 1 is a science fiction manga. It opens after a devastating war. But now, things are different. Mechanical Martial Arts has brought the people together. Unlike normal martial arts, these are fought with cybernetically altered fighters whose blood turns into steam.

MangaMonday Review – How to Train Your Devil, Vol. 1 by Tonchi Kataoka

How to Train Your Devil, Vol. 1
By: Tonchi Kataoka
Illustrator: Tonchi Kataoka (Illustrator); Ochie Caraan (Lettering)
Translator: Ben Trtheney
Release Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: Seven Seas
Series: How to Train Your Devil
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Fan service is brought to truly yikes levels in How to Train Your Devil, Vol. 1 by Tonchi Kataoka. This 2019 release is set in a standard fantasy world but bears a twist—its set after the hero has defeated the Demon King. In this case, the current demon king is barely a toddler and the forces of good can’t justify dooming the infant to death. Instead, the hero, Zeno Zebia, is tasked with caring for the 114th Devil King.