Manga/JDrama: Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)

I’d actually shared this whole post on Facebook before realising how much I could not SHUT UP and decided, what the hell, I should just copy and paste here what I had written there /o\ I’ve also forgotten to blog in the last 2 and half months and almost forgot AGAIN to share this here before September’s over…

Once upon a time I tried to blog at least once a month, but alas, I’m letting myself slip huh… Not gonna lie, I haven’t been doing great recently. But that’s no excuse, I guess. Not to myself at least. I’m afraid if I let myself slip any more I might just give up on this one day and I absolutely don’t want that to happen. It’s nothing much, but this blog is still something that gives me joy and that I’m proud about 🙂 Anyway, about this series…

A friend informed me over dinner awhile back that the Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) Jdrama is now on Netflix Sg and I was so friggin excited I got home and decided that night being more sleep-deprived than usual at work was worth it and binged 5 eps at one go.

Kinou Nani Tabeta (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)

To be honest, I haven’t caught up to the manga, but from what I’ve read, it’s such a GOOD slice of life series!!!!!!

Kinou Nani Tabeta, by Yoshinaga Fumi, is categorised as Seinen (from the magazine it publishes in) and follows the everyday lives of an established, middle-aged, gay couple living in Tokyo with a focus on their hearty, homecooked meals.

Manga: Himitsu Sentai Momoider

There was a period of time about a year ago when I was reminiscising on Great Teacher Onizuka and considered reading as many of Fujisawa-sensei’s works as possible. Unfortunately, I randomly decided to start on this… which effectively killed my manga-binge motivation.

Manga: Himitsu Sentai Momoidaer 「ひみつ戦隊モモイダー」Secret Combat Troops Momoider

Volume cover

Himitsu Sentai Momoider is a Seinen, comedy series by Fujisawa Tooru. It was serialised in Weekly Young Jump in 2007 and is complete with 14 chapters compiled into 1 tankobon volume.

Momo Sakura, 22, lives alone in Tokyo. Her profession: she is the Pink Momoider and is part of the Secret Combat Troops Momoider, a group of super sentai heroines! Unfortunately, the little girl is clumsy and her transformations often results in real fiascos… [Description taken from Baka-Manga Updates]

WARNING: Immensely stupid jokes. Almost didn’t finish it even though it was so short. 

Manga: Ajin

With work, cosplay preparation, job-hunting and a half-assed effort at NaBloPoMo, November has been really busy so far and it’s just going to get busier. Haven’t had much time to watch anime nor read any new manga (still going through Black Jack), so I’m a little worried most of my posts will be outdated in that I’ve forgotten a lot of the series and my thoughts on them previously. I’ll just do my best anyway.

Manga: Ajin: Demi-Human 『亜人』

    

Ajin vol 1 cover                                  Ajin vol 4 cover

Ajin is a Seinen, action, drama, horror, mystery, mature, supernatural manga series by Gamon Sakurai. It is currently serialising in good! Afternoon and 7 tankobon volumes have been published so far. It was nominated for the 7th annual Manga Taishou Award, the Readers Award in the 18th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, and for the Seinen category in the 38th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards in 2014.

I’ve only read until the 24th chapter of the manga (middle of volume 5) so these are just my thoughts until then.

Ajins are humans that cannot die. Ajin: Demi-human follows the story of Nagai Kei who, after dying in a traffic accident, immediately revives and learns that he is not human. As Ajins are considered criminals and taken in for experimentation, Kei becomes a wanted person on the run with his best friend Kaito, the only person to support him. He gets involved in a conflict between human and Ajin and must choose a side.

WARNING: Brutal violence. Lots of gore, physical hurt in potentially scarring ways, blood and death. Psychologically chilling with many dark themes and morals.

Manga: Jackals

Here’s something I finished reading a number of years ago. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten too much.

Manga: Jackals 「ジャッカル」

Jackals vol 1 cover

Jackals is a mature, martial arts, action Seinen series written by Murata Shinya and drawn by Kim Hyung-Jin. It was serialised from Sep 2005 to Dec 2008 and is complete with 56 chapters compiled into 7 tankobon volumes.

Cicero City, a city infested with immigrants where people of all races scramble to find work and shelter. Infested with destruction and slaughter, it’s a chaotic society. Living on the edge of this society are Jackals, professional assassins with no allegiance, available to the highest bidder. The story mainly follows one of these assassins-for-hire, Alligator Nichol. [Description taken and edited from Baka-Updates Manga]

Warning: Lots of violence, gore, blood and death. Vulgarity.

Manga: Kokou no Hito

The last time I did a complete manga recommendation was in… MARCH. HOLY CRAP. I’m sorry. Ahahahahahahaha—Forgive me.

This is a series that was recommended by Emma, who stumbled across my blog some time ago and direct-messaged me a few mangas to read. Thank you so much, Emma! XD Totally looking forward to going through the rest, but this one particularly stood out just because it’s on the topic of Mountain Climbing.

Manga: The Climber 「孤高の人」 Kokou no Hito

     

       Koukou no Hito volume 1 and 2 covers

Kokou no Hito is a Seinen, Mature, Psychological, Sports, Drama manga series written by Sakamoto Shinichi and Nabeda Yoshiro, and illustrated by Sakamoto Shinichi. It is very loosely based off the original, 1973, 2-volume-novel by Nitta Jirou. The manga was serialised from 2007 to 2012, spanning 170 chapters later published into 17 tankobon volumes.

I’ve been referring to the series as “Kokou no Hito” all the while, so the title will be shortened to KnH throughout this post.

On his first day of transfer to a new high school, loner Mori Buntarou is cajoled into climbing the school building. Despite knowing that one misstep could be his death, he climbs, and upon reaching the top, Mori is struck by a sense of fulfilment (“YOU’RE ALIVE!”), sparking an adrenaline for rock climbing. KnH follows the story of introvert mountain climber Mori Buntarou, partially based on real-life mountain climber Katou Buntarou, dedicating his entire life to professional mountain climbing, with the ascent of K2‘s East Face as his goal.

WARNING: Mature, soul-searching themes. Some NSFW, mostly just nudity. Realistic, detailed art. Cursing. Occasional long-explanations and bodies of text.

It is extremely hard to write about this manga without spoiling anything. I’ll do my best, but warning for potential (small) spoilers throughout.

Manga: Ichi The Killer

Here’s another reccommendation I got from Rikka that can be finished pretty quick. If this is the kind of manga for you.

Manga: Ichi the Killer 「殺し屋1」 Koroshiya Ichi

      

      Ichi The Killer vol 1 and 10 covers

Ichi The Killer is a Seinen, adult, action, psychological, tragedy, drama written and illustrated by Yamamoto Hideo. It was serialised from 1998 to 2001 and is currently complete at 103 chapters compiled into 10 tankoubon volumes. The manga was adapted into a live-action film, directed by Miike Takashi, in 2001, followed by the prequel film 1-Ichi, directed by Masahito Tanno, in 2003. The live-action films are notorious and is banned in several countries due to its high impact violence and graphic depictions of cruelty.  An anime OVA titled Ichi the Killer: Episode 0（殺し屋1 The Animation Episode 0）was released in 2002.

Ichi is a coward and a wimp, but once he breaks into tears, he turns into a human weapon with his martial arts skills and a blade hidden in his shoes. Kakihara is a yakuza boss and an extreme masochist who only feels he’s alive when he pierces, cuts and burns his own and other people’s bodies. Set in Shijuku, Kabuki-Cho, the biggest sin town in Japan, the story revolves around Ichi and his colleaguess’ confrontation with the yakuza (mainly Kakihara).

WARNING: VERY. VERY. GRAPHIC. CONTENT. Extreme violence and gore. Psychologically damaged characters.

I’d consider myself pretty desensitised to a lot of potentially scarring stories, but Ichi The Killer is no doubt one of the most psychologically jarring mangas I’ve read. You can decide for yourself whether it’s something you’d be interesting in, but I’d just like to warn you before hand.

It might actually leave you psychologically damaged too. HAHAHAAHA. Nah.

I shouldn’t joke about something like that.

Manga: Gang King

One thing I love about having a hobby like cosplay is that it’s really easy to make new friends.

This manga was recommended by a friend I made really recently who shares a pretty similar bias towards the Seinen manga genre. I thought it was pretty darn cool how we clicked so fast and could sit side-by-side for 30 minutes (would’ve been longer if we didn’t have to leave) chatting nonstop about manga with comparatively mature themes and content.

Thanks Rikka. I’m so darn happy to have found someone who can introduce me to more Seinen stuff.

Manga: Gang King 「ギャングキング」

        

        Gang King covers vol 1 and 2

Gang King is Seinen, school-life, action, comedy written and illustrated by Yanauchi Daiju. It started publishing in 2005 and is currently ongoing with 27 volumes. Unfortunately, the series has only been scanlated up to Chapter 48 (Volume 7). That’s all I’ve read until as well.

While being carried by the man who saved him from death, young Jimmy was captivated by the tattoo that spanned across that back. From that day, Jimmy vowed to become a tattoo artist just like the hero that saved him. Now in high school, Jimmy is considered a delinquent and skips class to run his own inking business on fellow school-mates for 30,00Y a tattoo. Banko, his partner-in-crime, runs his own business by selling information on popular girls in the area. As the story progresses, Jimmy and Banko meet new people, form a gang of their own, and bump heads with gangs from other schools/districts.

This manga is not the typical highschool-slice-of-life story; it’s got a rougher edge! This manga depicts some high school delinquents trying to get through high school life and gang fights. Okay no, mostly just gang fights

(Baka-Updates Manga)

WARNING: Violence. Duh. Profanity. Of course. Some fanservice and sexual implications, but usually pretty SFW… If you ignore the one guy constantly waving a dildo around… y e a h h h h ……

Manga: Oyasumi Punpun

Last post of the month. Phew.

I’ve posted late so many times and done so many back posts… Even though by posting this on the last day of month I’ve technically completed the challenge, it still feels like I half-assed it somewhat. HAHA. Had fun though. I’ll probably never do it again. At least not with such long posts.

Not sure when the next post will be since I’ll be pretty busy for the coming week or so. But will be back to introduce more stuff other than manga next time. Yayy ~ Thank you for making it through this Nov NaBloPoMo challenge with me. I hope you continue to enjoy reading the stuff I share.

Here’s the manga I had planned from the beginning to finish with. Actually wrote about it on Tumblr when I had just finished reading it early this year. I’m sorry if you’ve read that before, but this is just an expansion so there’s a lot that’s the same.

Manga: Oyasumi Punpun 「おやすみプンプン」 Goodnight Punpun

Oyasumi Punpun is a Seinen, adult, psychological, slice-of-life, comedy, drama written and illustrated by Asano Inio. It was serialised from March 2007 to Nov 2013 and is complete with 147 chapters compiled into 13 tankobon volumes.

Oyasumi Punpun follows the story of titular character, Onodera Punpun — a young boy living in Japan — as he copes with his dysfunctional family and friends, love interest, oncoming adolescence and his hyperactive mind. The series is split up into four stages of Punpun’s life experiences as he grows up: Elementary school, Middle school, High school, and his early 20s.

Throughout the whole series, Punpun is portrayed as a tiny, caricatured bird (along with his relatives who are also portrayed as birds) in an otherwise normal setting. Don’t let the ‘cute’ fool you.

WARNING: Immensely psychological and philosophical with very heavy themes. NSFW. Very explicit. Abuse, trauma, violence, depression, suicide, death.

Manga: Gangsta.

After spending most of the day hanging out with friends, I thought I came home with quite a bit of energy left. But after a shower, fabric painting for 20 mins (cosplay preparation 🙂 ), I sit down on the sofa and suddenly I feel like knocking out.

Gotta get this done though. And today’s one isn’t that easy to write about, argh.

EDIT: I REALLY KNOCKED OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF WRITING THIS so I went to sleep. I’m sorry.

Manga: Gangsta. 「ギャングスタ」

Gangsta. vol 1 cover

Gangsta. is a Seinen, mature, action series written and illustrated by Kohske. She is also the mangaka of the series I wrote about on Nov 3rd, Doodle. Gangsta. is Kohske-sensei’s first series and it was an instant hit. The manga is ongoing with over 30 chapters compiled into 6 tankobon volumes and counting. It is also currently being adapted into a series of Drama CDs, with the second just releasing in late Oct 2014, and the third one to be released in late Dec 2014. An anime adaptation is in the works.

The city of Ergastulum is a shady, depraved place. “Gangs, hoodlums, prostitutes, cops… It’s full of villains everywhere you look.” Enter “Benriya”, Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown. Whether it’s fixing your roof, doing deliveries, or taking out some thugs, they are handymen and jack-of-all-trades who do any and all sorts of jobs. Gangsta. follows the story of Benriya and how their lives, along with a few others, tangle with the mafia gangs of Ergastulum.

 WARNING: Violence, blood, mutilations, death. But it’s not gory. NSFW. Characters with traumatic pasts/psychological issues. Drug use. Discrimination. It’s… really not as bad as it sounds.

Manga: Dendrobates

Story of my life: I should be doing productive stuff everyday, but I just end up reading manga.

I hope the stories of your lives are more productive than mine.

Sengawa’s life definitely is.

Manga: Dendrobates 「デンドロバテス」

Dendrobates vol 2 cover

Dendrobates is a Seinen, mature, action series by Ishiwata Youji (story) and Yamane Akihiro (art). It was serialised from Jul 2006 to Dec 2008 and is complete with 58 chapters compiled into 6 tankobon volumes. I read this series very early last year, but not much of the series had been scanlated yet. Pleasant surprise when I decided to check back and found it completed. So far only caught up to the end of volume 4, but will probably finish it tomorrow 🙂

Blurb (mostly) from Easy Going Scans because its short, sweet and to the point:

Sengawa Junichirou’s day job is as an accountant working for the police. But at night… he transforms into a ruthless assassin bringing death to anyone who deserves it, for a price. Meet, and hire, the man with a thousand guns.

WARNING: NSFW. Nudity, rape, a lot of panties and boobs. A lot of violence and blood. This usually comes with gore and misplaced body parts. Drugs and narcotics. Blasphemy.