Category: Manga

Manga of the Month: Saint Young Men

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Saint Young Men (聖☆おにいさん) by Hikaru Nakamura

Sometimes comedy that has gone completely off the map is the best comedy of all. Saint Young Men follows the misadventures of Jesus and Buddha who have come to Japan and have taken an apartment to get away from their boring lives. If that doesn’t sound like a bizarre one-shot webcomic the internet would make up, then you aren’t well versed enough.

Saint Young Men is absurdist at full-throtle though when looking at manga-ka Hikaru Nakamura’s work on Arakawa Under the Bridge, one knows she’s had a lot of practice. Jesus and Buddha are experiencing the modern world in a new way and they are both kind of spazes for obvious reasons. They also have an odd couple relationship that gets them angry with each other and living together. Exploring the outside world is just as entertaining like when Buddha melodramatically laments that everyone is obsessed with his “fat period” when seeing all the statues about or the fact that when Jesus gets upset his stigmata acts up. This story pushes the limits of comedy combined with religion and the insignificance that worship can play in modern society.

So now I’ve got two wishes, 1) for this to be licensed of course and 2) for it to be turned into a delightful anime.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #139

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I finished the last 4 episodes (9-12) of Sacred Seven today and I feel pretty good about the series. There are some series you watch that make you want to run out and tell everyone how wonderful they are. Then there are series that you enjoy and would recommend but are not that earth shattering. Sacred Seven is distinctly in that second category. But I had a fun time and that is always the most important thing for me. The fights were always vibrant, energetic, and well choreographed. We got a love story, a save my sister in a coma story, and a revenge turned to redemption story. We defeated a bad guy and there were some sad deaths but most everyone made it through. There was even a nice bit of falling action. In refection a bit of the mythology of the Sacred Seven world goes totally unexplained but it is mostly there to set up the story and the fights scenes. It is not like it leaves you with all these unanswered mysteries. It is just that it concentrates more on telling the current story than giving you all the mechanics of how the powers in this world work. With a 12 episode show that is probably for the best. I enjoyed my time with Alma and Ruri and would recommend the show to anyone who wants a bit of light self-contained fun that does not do anything original but does it in an entertaining fashion.

I read one of CMX’s last releases, Stolen Hearts vol. 2, which just made me miss them a lot and lament that this cute series will never be finished. Here we continue the story of Shinobu and Koguma as they further their relationship. Shinobu meets the rest of his family including three handsome brothers with less crazy hair. I really enjoyed her getting to know everyone more and there is a lot of humor thanks to it (the grandmother cracks me up!). I wasn’t crazy about the oldest brother crushing on her and messing with Koguma. But all is made well again when they go on a trip together and experience their first kiss. Stays fun and cute, plus it is nice to see a pair in a relationship.

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The Speakeasy #021: Golden Dream, Digital Revolution

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Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #021: Golden Dream, Digital Revolution

In this episode, we talk about the digital revolution! Anime for the last couple of years has started getting on board with the digital age, and this year we’ve seen manga start to do the same thing. The systems aren’t perfect but steps in the right direction. We discuss different methods and what we like best plus give some suggestions about what we’d like to see in the future.

(Listen)

And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

Golden Dream

3/4 oz cream
3/4 oz orange juice
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz Galliano

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.