#cowa!

[aspiring-holistic-otaku]

Season 2 Ramble#6 - Just Jump In! ver.2

This month’s episode is about Shueisha publishing company's JUMP magazine line. you can use the link above or check the link in my bio to listen on other platforms 🍻

first some bare bones Jump basics:

What is JUMP? - JUMP is a magazine line with hella content for hella demographics and for the record they're not all comics, shueisha is actually a pretty diverse publishing company

Today though, we'll only be looking at two of their products. the Weekly Shonen Jump(WSJ) magazine, in print since 1968 with a main target audience of young boys, shonen literally being japanese for young boy, as well as their SHONEN JUMP+ app, which first launched in 2014 and has a main target audience of older adolescent lads.. The original + app is in Japanese as far as I understand but they released a follow up in 2019 simply called MANGA+.. also even though they have "main" target audiences they both have works that try to appeal to wider demographics + things sometimes move between lines or even appear on both at the same time.

This month I purposefully read manga from different time periods which gave rise to one mini section and three main sections which i’ll describe as I get to them

NOW JUMPING RIGHT IN!

New Manga Read This Month

mini section

Was this axed? Why was this axed?:

top 1

Magu chan: god of destruction(Kei Kamiki, 2020, 78 chapters)

this story follows the main heroine ruru after she finds and accidently unseals the now weakened god of destruction mag MENUek. not the best art or really the deepest characters but it's a gag manga. actually didn't think I'd enjoy this at all but it's pretty funny, got a lot of genuine hearty laughs pretty much every chapter... (pretty decent run at 78 chapters but after I finished I couldn't believe it got axed, definitely would've liked more but ironically it probably got axed because of folks like me...)

honourable mentions:

hell warden higuma, ginka & gluna, neolation

Ok so "main" sections now, starting with

Way Way Back (1960s - 1980s):

top 1

Mazinger Z (Gou Nagai,1972, 33 chapters)[Devilman Crybaby]

The story here is our mc, KOUji KAbuto, has a genius grandad who built the most powerful robot ever, Mazinger Z, but he dies in a sudden devastating earthquake before he can teach him how to use it. The only thing he's able to tell him before he passes is that with the robot comes power and with that power comes a choice, to be a god that saves humanity or a devil that destroys the earth.

Right off the bat the art wasn’t anything great or even particularly good but with really old stuff, especially things aimed at children, I think simpler art styles are to be expected. I did really like the robot designs tho, nothing too slick or fancy but they had an old quaint vibe like awww look at what grandpa drew…

The characters weren’t much either, as I said stupid simple story, giant robots doing cool giant robot stuff, so most of what would be the story of most characters was already in their designs like you see the main character and know they're the main character because he has that cool spiky cyborg 009 hairstyle etc.

not much more to say, kinda funny, surprisingly bloody given my perception of the time period and what I thought their perception of media was, especially media intended for kids.. but yh,, the whole manga can be summed up with giant robots have always been pretty cool… grain of salt though for those who plan to check it out, yes I thought it an enjoyable read but it was really only my top 1 because I could pretty much only find two things to read from this time period as the older manga are almost impossible to find on the internet.

honourable mention:

Dr.Slump (Akira Toriyama , 1980, 236 chapters)

Wasn't That Just The Other Day? (1990s - 2010s):

top 1

Bakuman(Oh! Great, 2008, 176 chapters)

Actually not my first time trying this, started back in hs but stopped for reasons I can't recall, I only remember thinking it was excellent which makes it all the more confusing but in any case I started over from the jump and I'm really glad I did.

This is a manga about making manga. I'm telling you man these Japanese dudes will make a manga about anything. trust.. Anyways the story here follows two main characters Mashiro and Takagi, and starts with them about to enter highschool. Takagi is the smartest in school since day one, expected to excel in life, and Mashiro has nothing. no goals or ambitions. he's just trying to come to terms with the mundane normalcy of life and society's expectations of what that should looks like. one day Mashiro leaves a book at school and Takagi, who unbeknownst to anyone is an aspiring writer, finds it full of amazing art and begs him to team up and make manga… Will they make it? and what exactly does it take to make it anyways? what even is "it"? (find out next time on read the manga and see!!)

Two things initially pulled me all those years ago, one, was a morbid curiosity, like I just couldn't fathom a manga about making manga being good in an entertaining way. like yh it's probably mad educational and it was, but as much as you can learn from any media the main reason I'm reading manga is to be entertained. two, oh! great did death note and again I just couldn't fathom the jump from mystery thriller about police vs death gods to this but man did they pull it off in style

First thing first the art was phenomenal as those familiar with oh! great works would expect. and I have to be clear, when I say oh! great does great art I mean Takeshi Obata does great art. oh! great is a duo between him and Tsugumi Ooba who did an equally good job on the story. like he basically showed us how the proverbial sausage is made without making us disinterested in the sausage. It actually instilled such a deeper appreciation for the process that I feel like all manga I read after this will be that much more enriching. especially shonen as the different creators in story debate and create what they think the genre should look like.

Great cast of characters, funny, serious, rivals, people you hated, people you loved, great sub plots that had them all interacting in a nice dynamic way, like it didn't feel like the two mcs were the cause and effect of everything. Great pacing as well as we get to see their journey from just trying something in highschool to getting their foot in the door in later years and so on. didn't feel rushed or dragged, it was nice to see a lot of the little ups and downs of life instead of just a cycle between highlights and rock bottoms.

I have to give fair warning and say it's pretty text heavy. even for something that's not kick and punch cause most of the time they're plotting out some manga or something but Obata really does a great job here making good use of panels and even speech bubble placement so it never really feels crowded unless it's meant to illustrate something like an argument or so. it also helped that despite his usual pretty realistic art style, he allowed characters to be toony when needed to lighten the mood or heighten some expression in just the right way

Honestly it's still so crazy that they pulled it off and pulled it off so well. I think ultimately it was the humanity of it that really tied everything together,, like yh they're manga artist but they're human first, and it's their human experiences that in the end feed into the art.

Talked a lot on this one.. that's why it was top 1 ig.. as usual I don't think I can speak enough to why exactly it's so great but yh… definitely highly recommend even if only out of morbid curiosity like you're thinking,, no way a manga about making manga is good. it is.

honourable mentions:

level e (Yoshihiro Togashi, 1995, 16 chapters),

Cowa!(Akira Toriyama, 1997, 14 chapters)

Hoshin Engi (...lol not that honourable ig)

...also just want to squeeze in that I actually tried bobobobo and wow… my brain may never recover…

What's Up Today? (2010s - present)

top 1

Astra Lost in Space (Kenta Shinohara on story & art, 2016, 53 chapters)

9 kids are brought to a nearby planet for a routine unsupervised camping trip as part of their highschool graduation. The future is wild. As plot convenience would have it, something goes wrong and they end up stranded in space. A rough enough situation on its own, but to make matters worse, the group finds signs that what happened was no accident and that the perpetrator is still among them..

Honestly a simple setup and premise, literally Lost but in space… not that I've actually watched lost but yh. anyways for as simple as the plot is the entire story wrapped up in 53 chapters anyways and they honestly squeezed every drop out of it that they could. What really stood out to me was how balanced it all felt.

As in the premise of being intentionally stranded is by no means unique but I feel like a lot of the media I've consumed around that tend to lean into one aspect more than others, like it becomes mostly about the mystery trying to find "whodunnit", or the focus becomes the sense of adventure, exploring the unknown and all that oor,, how it goes more commonly, in my experience at least, is a portrayal of the harshness of survival in the physical or mental sense.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that btw, the premise of being lost is used in many genres and it's up to the author to decide how much they want to lean into any genre. for example drifting net cafe, suicide island and dragon head are some lost horror type beats I've read, enjoyed and would definitely recommend.

In any case as I was saying about Astra lost in space, cause that's what I should be talking about here… is I loved how balanced it all was. Yes they're stranded and have to survive but it's not so overbearing that we can't take in the adventure of the unknown and yes we're seeing all these cool sights and different hypothetical evolutionary paths in space but also let's all be aware that one of us is probably plotting a murder yk? what tied this all up were the characters themselves like they felt really natural, yh a lot was going on but they're still just kids and they were sent out for a camping trip in the first place so come hell or high water they were gonna have some amount of fun or die trying. not that everyone was always on the same page and they didn't have disagreements and drama and so on but their individual quirks and character traits converged and diverged masterfully for a beautiful dynamic between the cast amongst themselves, and between the cast and their environment.

great cast and direction as I said, pretty standard art, nothing too crazy but it did what it needed to do, I also liked the little 4 panel bonus comics they did every now and then as well, all in all a pretty great read with some pretty neat twists I won't even allude to for fear of spoilers, especially for how short it was but yh, astra lost in space top 1 new read this month…

honourable mentions:

Akane Banashi(Yuuki SUEnaga doing the story & Takamasa Moue on art, 2022, ongoing 71 chapters)

'Tis time for "torture" princess ( Robinson haruhara on story and hirakei on art, 2019, ongoing 196 chapters)

Sakamoto Days(Yuuto Suzuki , 2020, ongoing 128 chapters),

ok now we're heading into

Manga Read Before This Month

(here I'll give less detail cause I would have mentioned a few of these repeatedly before + I want more of the shine on newer stuff tbh)

mini section

Was this axed? Why was this axed?:

top 1

Psyren(Toshiaki lwashiro, 2007, 151 chapters)

people are going missing and a secret society called psyren seems to be responsible. won't go farther than that but will say it's held up as one of the best shonen works I've ever read since the first time I read it in like 9 or 10th grade. still in disbelief that it was canceled cause you can barely tell when you read it. it's only after I finished it and was looking into some things I realised.

honourable mentions:

ayashimon, phantom seer, black torch

main sections

way way back (1960s - 80s):

top 1

Dragon Ball(Akira Toriyama, 520 chapters,1984)

don't think I need to say much here but I mention the sandwich of technique in the episode.

honourable mentions:

JJBA part1-3, Saint Seiya, city hunter

wasn't that just the other day (1990s - 2010s)

top 1

Rookies(Morita Masanori, 1998, 233 chapters)

delinquent baseball, real heartwarming story, great art cast and pacing, masanori really takes the cake when it comes to the delinquent aesthetic but yh… was my #2 in s1 ramble 12 & #3 in s1 ramble 1

honourable mentions:

eyeshield 21, slam dunk, Yu yu hakusho

what's up today? (2010s - present)

chainsaw man (tatsuki fujimoto, 2018, 137 ongoing)

look at the title lol

honourable mentions

fire punch, Tokyo ghoul series, My hero academia

other folks to check out on twitter:

https://twitter.com/KushiKuritikaru?t=2Tn-79ub0XyUqWM3XgEFWA&s=09

https://twitter.com/manga_crash?t=FzKQrpvb_rFwxHIe13Sqbw&s=09

then as usual I do a little part 2 where I ramble a bit 😅

thanks for reading so far, hope there's something that caught your fancy 🍻🍻🍻

[joshcolon]

“I’d rather be an airhead, so I can stuff my empty head full of dreams…”

[mikelaughead]

Toriyama has been a huge influence in me artistically. Love his amazing and inspiring comics. I’m sad he has passed away.

[ilovebeingaturtle]

I refuse to believe 1987 Leonardo or Michelangelo would ever curse. Leo's especially the guy who would go "oh fiddlesticks" or "oh golly" instead of cursing.

Oh absolutely, I feel like with Leonardo that sweet boy would censor himself all the time to be a good example!!! Sure, he can swear if he wanted to, but there’s children watching this cartoon!!! What would their parents say…

That said anon have you ever heard this clip-

[okretrozone]

Rest In Peace Toriyama Sensei

It has been days since the news broke on Toriyama's passing. And I have been reflecting on his impact on my life. The impact of his work is palpable across mainstream media and indie artists across the world. And I am not special, but like so many others his work has inspired me.

It is not just his character design, but his world-building and the way he told stories. The silly humor, and the small bits of biographical work he'd put in his comics about making them have always stuck with me.

One of my favorite games growing up was Dragon Warrior Monster, and of course, I loved Dragon Ball. Sand Land is my favorite Manga and I'm so excited for the game to come out next month. Dr. Slump is weird and delightful and I love how lively Penguin Village always felt with the reoccurring characters.

Toriyama's work is not only some of my favorite manga, anime, and character art in games but has so deeply impacted so many of the artists around me. I can see the inspiration, trickle-down impact, and references in so many works. Toriyama's Capsule Corp designs and small vehicles are permanently ingrained in my brain and I have recently found so many artists that just illustrate tiny vehicles because of his work.

While I am deeply saddened by his passing. Toriyama Sensei's legacy will continue to grow, and inspire individuals across the world for decades to come.

I'm taking the time to revisit his works and those around me and to continue to be inspired as to honor his legacy the best I can and share his works with others.

Thank you Toriyama Sensei. Thank you.

[sugadelicate]

[authorbettyadams]

Akira Toriyama - Inspiration for a Generations of Absurd Adventure - 1955 – 2024

#DBZ #DragonBall #ShonenJump #Manga #Anime

[peerlessscowl]

Cowa-bummer, Bro

“Hark! Hark, I say! No, no, down here!” If the sight of a ragged white horse grazing in the middle of the forest doesn’t grab your attention, the voice that calls from the bottom of a pit sure does. A tall man with tousled blue hair winces as he waves at you, claiming to have broken his leg when he fell into this *dastardly* trap. “I, King Sigurd of Grannvale, humbly request thine aid! Know that thy kindness today will reward thee handsomely in the years to come!” [Grants Faith +1]

(Starter for @ladyleonster)

Raven felt a little aghast at the mission. Part of him couldn't believe what kind of fucking idiot it took to play pretend as a king in a foreign land - let alone one who was even moderately famous. He wouldn't pretend to be an expert on full genealogies, of course, but he could at least claim to accurately point out who was in charge of which country at a given time, and even children in Elibe heard tales of Sigurd of Chalphy.

(For that matter, he tried not to be hard on the common folk of Faerghus, but their own nobility should fucking know better. How could they stand to be so naïve?)

Luckily for him, his chaperone for this mission was someone that he would consider an expert, at least in the legend of Sigurd of Chalphy: his sister.

He had spent his first few days at the Academy doing what might be called "settling in" - that is, he made a mental map of the layout of the monastery, made himself alert to entrances and exits and whether they were heavily guarded, and he learned who attended the monastery and in what capacity. It helped to know who would be useful, and when, and who to avoid, and why.

And wouldn't you just know it, a bona fide Knight of Seiros who just happened to be the sister of Sigurd of Chalphy was available when the nobles of Faerghus were being scammed by someone claiming to be that same man. Raven had pounced on the chance, claiming he needed help with his riding skills, and wouldn't she please give him some pointers along the way?

So they had ridden north to address the issue, meeting with various minor lords, but missing out on their quarry himself. He was wily, they were told. All charm and pluck, he always needed assistance of some sort - a nice lined wool cloak for the early fall chill, boots to replace his for the heel had begun to peel, a horse, you see, for his had fallen lame and he had needed to put the poor beast down.

Etcetera.

But by the time they reached each victimized town, the imposter had up and made his way gone, leaving a trail of confusion and consternation behind him.

And tracks.

The tracks were most important.

Raven tugged his cloak closer to his body, squinting in the low light of the forest. He nudged his steed gently with his heels, catching Ethlyn's attention before jerking his chin a few meters ahead, where a white horse grazed peacefully.

Quietly, he said, "Tied up. Nice bridle," he added, pointed. "Shall we?"

[blobfishious]

[akascow]

RISE BAYBEE RISE BAYBEE

…

rise. baby. rise. baby.

[cowapopurge]

【COWA】 桜🌸 cherry blossoms #new #concept #triangle #cowa #新 #概念 #三角 #コワ https://www.instagram.com/p/CqifjCRPpSq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sunkingwrites]

having an apocalypse setting then doing literally anything other than a survival focus is so so funny to meeee :D

[roydeezed]

Rest in Peace Toriyama-sensei

[authorbettyadams]

Akira Toriyama 1955-2024 - Thank you for four decades of laughter, absurdity, adventure, inspiration

#AkiraToriyama #ShonenJump #Manga #Anime #Passed

[plum-pitt]

GUYS THEYRE MAKING AN OFFICIAL CROSSOVER COMIC. THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DRILL.

ISSUE 13 OF SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES DROPPING IN JUNE.

updates below the cut —>

UPDATE #1:

Hiya! since this is blowing up just thought i’d stick this on here. I got this info from a YT community post from teddygamingreview, a smaller channel knee deep in the comics side of the tmnt franchise that i’ve been following for a while. From what i understand this is just teaser/promo material so there’s not a whole lot of other info out yet. Thats all, cowa-fuckin-bunga dudes

UPDATE #2:

TEDDYGAMING REVIEWS CAME IN CLUTCH ONCE AGAIN WITH A BREAKDOWN VIDEO

(Most important new info takeaway that wasn’t already laid out in the previous post, in case you don’t got time to watch right now: the issue after this has some villains from the 2012 series on the cover art, implying that whatever multiverse crossover shenanigans are going on might bleed into he next issue, at least to some extent?)

UPDATE #3:

THIS ONES TOO BIG SO I MADE A SEPARATE POST FOR IT, LINK HERE: