Nakama Britannica

In the early noughties there was a sudden surge of interest in manga in the USA, resulting in several publishing houses establishing their own lines of manga in English translation. Some have fared better than others – and now, one of the best-established of them all, Del Rey Manga, has recently celebrated five successful years [...]

When I began reading the Kenichi Sonoda’s Gunsmith Cats not long ago, I was almost immediately struck by the similarities between it and Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon. Both are action packed guns blazing stories but what I particularly noticed and enjoyed was the focus on the tough, independent female characters who feature prominently in both [...]

 Even manga and anime fans get credit crunched. I learnt this the hard way. Anyone who has watched the anime classic, Genshiken, will know the dilemma faced by an otaku when he walkes into a clothes shop, reluctantly, being forced to buy new clothes. I mean, seriously, being an anime and manga fan costs a [...]

When an iconic anime series comes along, we all tend to sit up and pay attention, whether it be ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’, ‘ Cowboy Bebop’, or ‘Gurren Lagann’ , to name but three on whose superior qualities critics and fans alike seem to agree. But I’m certain that everyone has their own secret favourite series [...]

Having just reviewed the Trinity Blood series, the creativity, or lack of it, in the anime industry - something I often think about, and which my thoughts have been trying to give shape to in the back of my mind recently - seems like an appropriate subject for this article.
It struck me, when the point [...]

About a month ago, my friend and I were at a loose end, so we decided to jump on a train and head to the Manchester Urbis, to check out the ‘How Manga Took Over The World’ exhibition.

About 2 hours later and we arrived in Manchester.  The Urbis is a rather cool building, kinda coming [...]

Last weekend I was invited to attend the ninth Japan Expo at the Parc d’Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte. When I first read the names of the mangaka and anime artists who were appearing at Japan Expo this year, I had to pinch myself. Because the team who organize Japan Expo had accumulated a wealth of [...]

Tsugami Ohba’s, and Takeshi Obata’s, ‘Death Note’ is a synthesis of a brilliantly dislikeable protagonist and a wonderful exploration of what Moral Philosophy, the philosophy of morality, has been trying to grapple with since its inception: just what is justice? ‘Death Note’ is complemented by a brilliant battle between good and bad. So who is [...]

This post contains some spoilers of Norihiro Yagi’s manga ‘Claymore’.
‘Claymore’ is the brainchild of Norihiro Yagi, a mangaka whose previous works include the likes of ‘Undeadman’ and ‘Angel Densetsu’. ‘Claymore’ is a good read, especially if one appreciates a story told in such a bleak world, dark atmosphere and complemented with a compelling protagonist. However [...]

At the moment I’m reviewing the manga titles Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and xxxHolic, both created by CLAMP, and both published here in the UK by Tanoshimi. I can’t help but be impressed by the great job Tanoshimi have done in the presentation and translation of these (and other) titles. I’ve mentioned the excellent presentation in [...]