It’s been a while since I last posted, and in that time, some manga I had been reading ended and I also picked up/started back reading some others. I got some thoughts, so it’s time to get back at the keyboard.
My Hero Academia
First things first, congratulations to Kōhei Horikoshi on ending My Hero Academia. That series lasted a literal decade(July 2014 to August 2024) and really made a big splash over there in Japan and here in NA. It’s kinda wild to think about how big it got. (impefectly) Witnessing MHA become a household name was really cool, especially as someone who has a bit of a sentimental attachment to Horikoshi. When I started reading the digital english Shonen Jump way back when, his series Barrage was the first brand new Jump series I ever read. Yeah, I read Nura and Psyren a bit beforehand, but they were already running. Barrage was the first series I got to see start in Jump, and it was unfortunately my first experience watching Jump cancel a series I liked. Still, I liked barrage and it left an impression on me. I got both of its volumes in print and digital format, even.
I forget what I saw first, MHA in Jump or the anime. I wanna say the anime. Yeah, lt’s just go with that. I specifically remember watching the first episode in my Simulation & Animation Design class(because the teacher was cool like that and let us watch anime when we getting shit done. Love you always, Mrs. Wallace!) and coming away really impressed and eager to see more. Jump got MHA, but it started in the middle of the tournament arc, so I got to Read the famous part where Deku and Todoroki fought.
I really liked MHA. It won’t go down in my top 10 or anything of the sort, but I liked it a lot, and more importantly, I was so happy to see Horikoshi get such a well-recieved series after getting my heart broken with Barrage. He bounced back pretty fucking quick, too. Barrage was mid 2012. He came back with MHA mid 2014.
Eventually, when the English Jump dropped the magazine format, I fell off MHA. Once I didn’t have the magazine format to conveniently have all the series grouped for me, I really only kept up with One Piece, I can’t lie to you. I was still reading We Never Learn and prob a couple others, too, but mainly One Piece as far as weekly series go. Blue Exorcist, Seraph of the End, and World Trigger are all monthly, so We Never Learn was really the only other thing I kept up with. I would eventually go back and finish Promised Neverland when it finished.
Anyway, back to the point. MHA is just important to me because it was Horikoshi getting a dub. Even if I fell off the series, I was always happy to see people hype for the anime and the new chapter releases. Also, he made Miruko and Lady Nagant. The man has taste, people.
I don’t have much of an opinion on the ending since I literally just hopped in to read it without reading the series for like the past 5-6 years. I can’t really say anything beyond I’m glad it had a happy ending and it kinda seemed a litle rushed. I’ve seen worse. Speaking of….
Eden’s Zero
So, last year, I started this series called Eden’s Zero. It’s by the guy that made Rave Master and Fairy Tail. I fuck with Rave Master, Fairy Tail not as much(it’s fine, tho). I ended up really liking Eden’z Zero. It started pretty bland and not necessarily too gripping, but grew into its own and became something I really looked forward to reading every week, with some really good arcs.
It ended a couple months ago, and it didn’t really stick the landing for me. I don’t like spoiling shit on here, so I’ll keep it brief. The final villain wasn’t very good, the arc’s premise is half cool, half suspect, and the actual last chapter just felt disappointing. Not bad taste in my mouth disappointing. I’m not mad I read Eden’s Zero or anything. I was just really surprised that a series that turned out that good ended so lackluster. I guess it fits since the beginning wasn’t all that impressive, but that making sense kinda sorta does not make how bleh the ending was feel any better. It definitely soured me on reading any new series from him. I’ll probably still check out the Fairy Tail stuff, but his new shit, you can miss me with that after this, I feel. I really liked this series and I feel it deserved to have a better ending than it got. It’s a happy ending, at least.
Kaiju No. 8
Even before it got an anime this year, I had heard rumblings of Kaiju No. 8 being legit. Curiousity got the better of me, and I’m glad it did. Kaiju No. 8’s a winner in my book, man. Really solid Shonen series with a pretty relatable protagonist and some good supporting characters. The art is kinda sick with it, too. I definitely recommend this. It’s still ongoing and the arc going right now is very hype. Kaiju punch to the face/10.
Gokurakugai
This is another solid series that I picked up last year. Less catching up to do because it’s monthly. Because of that, it’s still in its early stages. The premise is this pair of Troubleshooters solve demon/monster-related cases in their city. Really fun, but just like any series, it has to do a couple beats and lay some groundwork before it can start the overarching story stuff, which has begun now, mind you. I enjoy this a lot. I’m a sucker for this kind of setup, the art’s godlike, and characters are very fun.
Dandadan
This is not new, but as I’m on the cusp of catching up, I gotta give Dandadan its flowers again. This story is just wild in all the best ways possible. It’s getting up there with Nura as one of my favorite manga. It’s easily my favorite of the new school. If you haven’t read Dandadan, give a couple chapters a read now or peep the anime that’s coming in a little bit. I swear it’s good. I swear, mane.