CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

What's Manga?

Manga are Japanese comics. In fact, "Manga" is the Japanese word for comics (American and European included), though it's generally used to refer exclusively to Japanese comics by their foreign readers.

Though the roots of Manga go deep, Manga as we understand it today is a relic of Japan's Post-War Era rebuilding, where comics were a cheap and disposable source of entertainment, leading to their rise in popularity over the next few decades. Today, Manga makes up a significant portion of the Japanese publishing industry.

And we care because?

One of the interesting things about Manga is how much ground it manages to cover, making for a diverse selection of genres and subject matter to choose from. You can find Manga about cooking, sports, home life, and gambling; there's historical Manga, science-fiction and fantasy, action, adventure, romance; there's even autobiographical Manga. It's a staggering range of content to consider, and only a fraction of it will ever be available overseas.

So what's this thread for?

I'm glad you asked.

The purpose of this thread is to introduce CAA members to a wider selection of Manga than they might ordinarily find, challenging them to pick up something new and different, and talk about it. We're sort of a club, though anyone and everyone can be a member - I know, very inclusive.

Don't we already have a thread for this?

Yes we do, but that's entirely different stop talking about it.

How does it work?

Simple.

Every month, we ("We" being a few of us handpicked for our good taste) will select a particular Manga title and suggest you read the first volume. You're welcome to read more than just the first volume, of course, but only the first will be mandatory. Occasionally we will suggest something that has only one volume, so that's that. You'll have a whole month to track it down and read it, after which you're invited to discuss it in this thread. New month, new Manga, etcetera unless we suddenly run out of Manga.

Ideally, you'll discover something you'd never read before, and be opened up some new reading material.

What kind of stuff will you be recommending?

Not Bleach.



How should I track this stuff down?

Alright, now pay attention, because this is the important part.

[color="Red"]If the Manga recommended is commercially available in your country, we cannot stress enough how important it is that you acquire a copy legally.[/color] Buy it, rent it, borrow it from the library, borrow it from a friend, read it in the store, whatever fits. If you find a series you'd like to follow because of this thread, please back it financially, or at least use legal routes of obtaining it.

That said―

We may occasionally recommend a Manga that is not (yet?) available in your area. [color="Red"] In the event that the title cannot be found in your country, we leave finding it up to the individual conscience of the reader.[/color] If you feel justified in using online means of reading unlicensed Manga, that is your prerogative; if you do not feel that is acceptable, that is also your right to decline our recommendation. However, [color="Red"]please do not turn this thread into a debate over the morality and legality of reading Manga online.[/color]

Furthermore, [color="Red"]we will NOT provide links or directions to such sites. Please do not ask for them in this thread.[/color] Thank you.

Will everything recommended be age appropriate?

Because the minimum age requirement to post on CAA is 13, "PG-13" titles may be submitted at your discretion, although we may (rarely, rarely) blur the line. All recommendations will include an age rating and brief content description. You will never be required to read something you find objectionable or uncomfortable. It should go without saying Manga featuring heavy violence and sexual content will be kept out of this thread. We will never feature Berserk in one of our recommendations.

Some examples of ratings:

All Yotsuba&! (safely recommended)
13+ One Piece (safely recommended)
15+ FullMetal Alchemist (safely recommended)
17+ Hellsing (borderline)
19+ Berserk (not recommended)

Well I'm in.

Then let's get started.

Table of Contents

2010
October - Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by Yoshiyuki Nishi
November - Ohikkoshi by Hiroaki Samura
December - Pluto by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka

2011
January - Historie by Hitoshi Iwaaki
February - The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer by Satoshi Mizukami
March - Tegami Bachi by Hiroyuki Asada
April - Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko by Hitoshi Ashinano
May - Steel Ball Run by Hirohiko Araki
June - A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori
July and August - Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi
September - Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara
October - ??????
November - ??????
December - ??????

2012
January - ??????
February - ??????
March - ??????

Manga of the Month - October 2010
[SIZE="4"]Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation[/SIZE]
Story and art by Yoshiyuki Nishi



Genre: Action, comedy, supernatural, horror, mystery
Age: 13+
Content: Deals with ghosts and magic on a regular basis, some death and light violence.

Nishi's premiere Manga series (that I'm aware of anyway), Muhyo & Roji reads a lot like I'd imagine a Japanese Ghost Busters would. Although essentially a batch of short ghost stories, volume one does a pretty good job introducing us to the young genius Muhyo and his occasionally useful assistant Roji. Sports some very charming art and some of the most vivid and creative monster designs I've yet seen in Manga, it's an under-appreciated alternative to a lot of other supernatural Shounen Manga.

Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is completed at 18 volumes.

Sign me up, Mr. Fish and Chips! This looks to be a very promising and educational thread!

Now to track down this manga...

Wow, that art style looks so familiar, but I don't think I've read anything by Yoshiyuki Nishi before... o.o
At any rate, there are only few things more fun to read than a supernatural shounen with a young, genius detective. Looks like a great way to start this off.

I'm in. Sign me up.

*goes to search every library and bookstore in town*

Fish, this is a fantastic idea. I'm totally in!

Hey, this is a pretty neat idea. And it will be interesting to see what you guys/girls think of Muhyo. I've actually read it up to the end of the main plot in Volume 15.

The first chapter is available on Viz's website for those interested:

http://shonenjump.viz.com/onlinemanga/sjom.php?chap=mr-hi-preview

I'm in! This thread seems awesome! I gotta go track down that manga, it sounds interesting! *really loves scary-type stories*

Dude, I'm totally up for this!

-scurries off to go read it-

Sign me up please! Yes, yes please!!!!!! I shall be looking for this manga.

Would it be okay if I asked details on the content?

steenajack (post: 1429593) wrote:Would it be okay if I asked details on the content?

Fish and Chips (post: 1429405) wrote:Genre: Action, comedy, supernatural, horror, mystery
Age: 13+
Content: Deals with ghosts and magic on a regular basis, some death and light violence.

There ya' go.

How did I even miss that? Thank you Mr. Hat n' Clogs. I will definetly be checking this out!

First of all, let me say this: what a great idea! Inspired post, Fish.

I am totes up for it; however, I may not be able to get my hands on the October manga before October is over, which is a shame b/c I really want to read this one anyway. How far in advance will we know about future readings?

ich1990 (post: 1429471) wrote:The first chapter is available on Viz's website for those interested:

http://shonenjump.viz.com/onlinemanga/sjom.php?chap=mr-hi-preview

[quote="TheSubtleDoctor (post: 1429596)"]I am totes up for it]

There ya' go.

Mr. Hat'n'Clogs (post: 1429597) wrote:There ya' go.

Yeah, but that only helps me so much b/c I need

Fish wrote:the first volume

and the Viz link is only to

ich1990 wrote:the first chapter

TheSubtleDoctor (post: 1429596) wrote:How far in advance will we know about future readings?

You won't.

A new Manga will be posted at the beginning of every month. Initially, this thread was supposed to go up on October 1st, but there was some interference on my side. Nobody will know what's next until its turn.

This being one of the reasons it's Manga of the Month. That should be ample time to procure a copy for reading.

Okey Dokey.

I get most of my manga via ILL, so it can take a couple of weeks to get to me sometimes. Thus, i might not have the requisite opportunity to read October's manga before November 1. But, as I said, I am into the M.O.M. Circle idea, so I will try my hardest to track Vol. 1 down.

I guess I could've googled this, but for the sake of discussion, what other stuff has this guy done?

Aside from a couple oneshots nobody's ever heard of, his only other serial work Bokke-san got killed early by Jump's editorial staff and popularity polls. I don't know what he's working on in the interim.

Before that he was someone's assistant, I think for Takeshi Obata.

Bokke-san was pretty good for a cancelled Jump series, although toward the end it started feeling rushed and haphazard...perhaps because he saw the writing on the wall. At any rate, I've been following Nishi for awhile.

How fun! Thanks for starting this, Fish!

I acquired the first volume of this today. I don't know where I'd get the other volumes, but I'm ready to read this one.
How much are we going to be reading.

knightlee (post: 1430228) wrote:I acquired the first volume of this today. I don't know where I'd get the other volumes, but I'm ready to read this one.
How much are we going to be reading.

I wish more people would read the opening post.

Fish and Chips (post: 1429403) wrote:Every month, we ("We" being a few of us handpicked for our good taste) will select a particular Manga title and suggest you read the first volume. You're welcome to read more than just the first volume, of course, but only the first will be mandatory.

Kyaah!! I saw that manga at the bookstore, but it was VOLUMES 16 ONWARD!!!! Darn it, I'll have to buy volume 1 online XD!!!!

AnimeGirl (post: 1430327) wrote:Kyaah!! I saw that manga at the bookstore, but it was VOLUMES 16 ONWARD!!!! Darn it, I'll have to buy volume 1 online XD!!!!

If you order through Rightstuf, the first volume is only $5.99 (there's a shipping charge, but essentially you'd be paying the same as if it were in the store). I ordered it this morning- the only sad part is they don't have it in stock right now, so it might be a week or so until it actually ships.

Great idea. I think I shall join this. How are the manga chosen? I'm sure it is written in here somewhere, but I just woke up and my reading skills are still lazy and half awake. I'll read the complete thread soon.

Mr. Rogers (post: 1430369) wrote:Great idea. I think I shall join this. How are the manga chosen? I'm sure it is written in here somewhere, but I just woke up and my reading skills are still lazy and half awake. I'll read the complete thread soon.

Lessee... I think I saw it up there before.....

How does it work?

Simple.

Every month, we ("We" being a few of us handpicked for our good taste) will select a particular Manga title and suggest you read the first volume. You're welcome to read more than just the first volume, of course, but only the first will be mandatory. Occasionally we will suggest something that has only one volume, so that's that. You'll have a whole month to track it down and read it, after which you're invited to discuss it in this thread. New month, new Manga, etcetera unless we suddenly run out of Manga.

Ideally, you'll discover something you'd never read before, and be opened up some new reading material.

I find it a bit funny that this thread has mostly been used to tell people to read the first post. XD;;


Anywho, since my library decided to be fairly awesome, I'll start up the discussion on this month's manga, Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation.

Firstly, this particular page sold me on this series:




I love the sunglasses and the overall idea of characters trying to put on fun looking disguises. And now I want to read more of this manga. <3

Going off on a bit of a tangent here, one of the first things I noticed when I began to read this is that I was completely wrong on who I thought was who after only reading Fish's description and looking at the cover. I thought the tall, blond boy was the boss and the short black haired one was the assistant. I was incorrect, but that was fine, because it worked out better this way. The assistant is always better as the kind-hearted, rather cute one. XD
Speaking of which, I liked how the relationship between Mihyo and Roji worked. It was much like boss and slave for most of the time, but one of the chapters in particular did show that Mihyo did care some about Roji's well-being. I mean, he saved him from being eaten by a chair; that's something. XD

On the subject of chairs that eat people, I did enjoy the designs of the ghosts/spirits in this manga. Everything from the cute little animal spirits to this:


I don't think they were lacking in the creepy factor, but the manga did manage to stay somewhat light-hearted enough to not be totally terrifying. (for example, I read this manga at night and wasn't too freaked out as I would have been if I was reading, say, Shiki). It had a nice balance of creepy moments as well as funny and heartwarming moments.

The art was spot on shounen genre, but also had a bit of a creepy/horror feel to all of the characters (especially in the extra pointy, oval eyes). In fact, Roji seemed to be the only character that actually stood out a bit more with his more circular and innocent eyes. And suspenders are awesome. Man, can you tell which character I like? XD;
Overall, the art matched the series content rather well. Yoshiyuki Nishi has a very creative art style. It's a pity he hasn't gone on to draw more manga. :<

Concerning the story structure, I enjoyed the episodic feel of going from one case to the next. It makes for easier and sometimes more enjoyable reading. Looking at the preview for the next volume though, I get the feeling they aren’t going to stick with this format for too long and instead switch to a more involved plotline. We’ll have to see though, but I’m definitely going to keep reading this manga. ^_^

Well, after waiting for almost two weeks for Rightstuf to get this in from the manufacturer, I strongly suspect that I won't get it by the end of the month. However, I will happily be taking part in next month's discussion.