Manga Tak

In a world ravaged by war, two mercenaries named Deunan and Briareos accept an offer to live in a mysterious metropolis known as Olympus. Once inside the city, the two end up joining the city police force, but can't seem to shake the feeling something isn't right about the supposed utopia... And just maybe, this life isn't better than the one they left behind scavenging beyond the city walls!
On this week's episode, Mat is joined once again by writer and artist, Ian Sta. Maria to discuss Masamune Shirow's debut work, Appleseed! With the new omnibus editions from Dark Horse about to hit shelves, we thought now was the perfect time to crack out our old (flipped!) copies and talk about what makes the book so special. We get into Shirow's incredible creative vision, where his love of drawing ladies took his career, and how we feel about a story thats as hard sci-fi as you're likely to see on the pages of a manga!
---
Show Notes
---
First up! A correction - Mat says on the podcast that nobody knows Shirow's real name, but it is in fact Masanori Ota! 
---
Shirow Interviews:
KABOOM! Explosive Animation from America & Japan" exhibition (listification)

Masamune Shirow, Interviewed by Trish Ledoux (1993)
Dark Horse interview with Masamune Shirow (1995)
Toren Smith's Interview with Masamune Shirow (geocities)
Link to Mat's reel of the Masamune Shirow Exhibit in Tokyo (2025)
---
Manga
---
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
Five Star Stories by Mamoru Nagano
My Name Is Shingo by Kazuo Umezu
Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow
Orion by Masamune Shirow
Intron Depot 1 by Masamune Shirow
Blackmagic by Masamune Shirow
Dominion (aka Tank Police) by Masamune Shirow
Gunsmith Cats by Kenichi Sonoda (I can't believe I forgot his name! - Mat)

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
X: Manga Tak Pod
Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod
Instagram: Manga Tak Pod

Reverse London is a city filled to the brim with Dragons! While some co-existt alongside humanity, an astounding 72% of all deaths in London proper were supposedly caused by them! Enter Witches from the Western Branch of Soul Society, who are the only people legally aloud to interact with these fearsome beasts! But when Noel and Ninny, two young Pipers find themselves looking after Balgo Parks, it's not going to be as easy to keep the status quo as it seems!
This week, Mat is joined once again by Mitch Proctor (aka Bon.Idle) of Cømpact / Koguchi Comics to discuss Tite Kubo's 2019 spin-off to Bleach, Burn The Witch! We drop into Reverse London and share our feelings on the setting, the character design and how we feel as Brits about Kubo's interpretation of the city. Then we get into the juicier topics of how we feel about Manga 'seasons' vs. weekly syndication, and if it's better to be optimistic about a series' potential when you're not sure you'll get more than one volume!
---
Show Notes
---
Manga
---
One Piece by Eiiichiro Oda
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue
Berserk! by Kentaro Miiura
The Hunter's Guild: Red Hood by Yuki Kawaguchi
Alien Headbutt by Akira Inui
---
Bleach Terms / Kubo Stuff
---
Reiatsu
Kidō
Klub Outside
Tite Kubo BTW Anime Interview
Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
X: Manga Tak Pod
Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod
Instagram: Manga Tak Pod

Kosaku Hatanaka could have been a contender... if only he could watch what he eats! Much to his coach's dismay, Hatanaka just can't seem to resist the temptation of a delicious meal and keeps blowing his weight checks as a result. Out of desperation, a hungry Hatanaka stumbles into a church and meets a naive, trainee nun named Sister Angela. Seeing a man falling into temptation, she vows to watch over this lost lamb... but maybe he's not the only one who should be worried about temptation!
This week, Mat is joined once again by AC Yoshiimura (aka @prodtally) to discuss one of Rumiko Takahashi's lesser known works, One-Pound Gospel! With the book finally back in print, we sat down to discuss where it sits in the rankings of Takahashi's work, it's incredibly sporadic publication history and, of course, how the Christian elements of Sister Angela's character play into what is essentially a sport's gag manga! 
---
Show Notes
---
The only two interviews with Rumiko Takahashi (from the fine folks over at Rumic World) mentioned in the pod can be found here:
Rumiko Takahashi x Kiyoshi Hatanaka
Rumiko Takahashi x Atsushi Kamijo
---
Manga
---
Urusei Yatsura by Rumiko Takahashi
Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi
Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi
Mao by Rumiko Takahashi
Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi
Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi
Neon Genesis Evangelion by Hideaki Anno
D.Gray-Man by Katsura Hoshino
Sex by Atsushi Kamijo
Hajime no Ippo by George Morikawa (which just got announced to be coming out in English from Kodansha!)
Kids on the Slope by Yuki Kodama
Ashita no Joe by Asao Takamori & Tetsuya Chiba
Tokyo Alien Bros by Keigo Shinzo 
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic by Shinobu Ohtaka
Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
X: Manga Tak Pod
Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod
Instagram: Manga Tak Pod

In a world filled with deadly dungeons, filled to the brim with untold riches, Ali Baba wants to leave behind the life of a wagon driver and fulfil his potential... but it isn't until he ends up giving a ride to a young boy named Aladdin, who just happens to be packing a Djinn in a magic flute that he thinks he really has a shot of succeeding where others have failed... But just who is this boy? And why does he have such a habit of attracting trouble? Let's find out!
On this week's episode, Mat is joined once again by Tsutsudae of the Undisputed Anime podcast to discuss Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic by Ohtaka Shinobu - a classic work of shonen manga based on the One Thousand and One Nights folktales. The boys get into the book's unique setting, what Tsu believes makes it stand out amongst other shonen books of the time and more importantly, if it's worth checking out at all!
---
Show Notes
---
Sumomomo, Momomo by Shinobu Ohtaka
Magi: Adventure of Sinbad by Shinobu Ohtaka and Yoshifumi Ohtera
Orient bt Shinobu Ohtaka
Sinbad by Atsuji Yamamoto (Mat Note - originally published in Monthly Comic Nora, Not WSS ;) )
Red River by Chie Shinohara
Ichi The Witch by Osamu Nishi & Shiro Usazaki
Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
X: Manga Tak Pod
Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod
Instagram: Manga Tak Pod

Moritaka Mashiro is an average 14 year old middle schooler who's jaded with the system. His plans to coast through life hit a snag one day when one of his classmates, Akito Takagi, snags his notebook and proposes the two of them create Manga together. Moritaka initially refuses because he's seen first hand what being a mangaka means, but after learniing his crush, Miho Azuki plans to become a voice actor he makes a pledge to her: he will team up with Akito, the two of them will create a smash hit manga, get it made into an anime for Miho to voice, then the two of them will get married!
Yes folks, Mat and Tom sit down to talk about the renowned manga about making manga, Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and run face first into a romantic high school drama! Will the content be enough to hook them? Will it be as good as Mat remembers? And more importantly, does the second creative work from the Death Note duo improve upon their first hit series?
---
Show Notes
---
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow 
Fist of The North Star by Buronson and Tatsuo Hara
Akane Banashi by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Orange by Ichigo Takano
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki
---
Books on Manga!
---
Manga in Theory and Practice by Hirohiiko Araki
Manga School by Akira Toriyama
The Shonen Jump Guide to Making Manga
How to Draw Manga by Osamu Tezuka

Thanks to Juliano Zucareli for our theme music!

Find us on:
X: Manga Tak Pod
Bluesky: Manga Tak Pod
Instagram: Manga Tak Pod