On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton, Lum and Sakaki all get together to take a look at the special US edition of Kodansha's Young Magazine and attempt to spotlight and discuss every first chapter featured! Though as you can clearly see, we had definitely bit off more than we can chew! So much so, that we have to split this up into TWO PARTS! Seriously! There was NO WAY we'd be able to get through all 16 series (plus two one shots) in one go! Especially not when you throw in an official sequel to Mavericks favorite, Boys Run The Riot, which we definitely had A LOT to say about! Even so, be proud that we still cover a little more than half the lineup. So stay tuned next time as we finish off the rest of the magazine! Enjoy!
Be sure to read and vote for your favorite series on Young Magazine USA's official website!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
12:31 - Young Magazine Discussion
20:25 - The Last Terran
39:04 - Boys Run the Riot -In Transition-
1:06:28 - To Dusk and Twilight
1:18:18 - GOUMA
1:30:26 - Is My Love Strange?
1:50:02 - Me and Bob Dylan (and My Father)
1:57:16 - The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers
2:12:01 - The Silent Forest
2:20:04 - The Knight of Blasphemy
2:33:40 - Kikikaikai
2:45:22 Still You
2:55:27 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
We recorded a podcast. A podcast just for us (and you, our listeners). This is that podcast.
Once again, we’re opening up our heart-shaped boxes to give you our self-liner notes for one of our debut Manga Mavericks Books titles, Alternative[Self-Liner Note]! In this free-style jam session of a podcast that you can think of as the “B-Side” to our previous discussion on Alternative, we sat down with our Accounting & Sales Manager, Nicholas Hodges, to discuss the series from the perspective of someone who’s a musician and has worked in music journalism!
Nick describes how he related to the book based on his background and experience with music, touching on the significance of many of the artists referenced by Yagura-sensei in their playlist of inspirations included in the book, in particular Number Girl and Nirvana. We reflect on how we relate to the series’ depiction of someone going through a quarter-life crisis in their late 20s and being uncertain whether they can continue to pursue their passion without getting anywhere, with Nick looking back at it with frustration from the standpoint of someone who’s grown past that point in their life. We explore how the series has a great message for younger readers about not conflating career success with creative fulfillment, and never losing sight of the joy in creating something that is meaningful to you and is for you and yours alone. Plus, we go on many digressions, such as about the best years of SNL, Robert Zemeckis’ filmography, Nick watching Perfect Blue for the first time when he was too young, and more!
So listen up and listen good as we learn a lot (maybe too much) about our CFO, Nick, and discuss what makes Alternative’s story and message resonate no matter what career or passion you’re rocking!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Order Alternative[Self Liner Note] and more Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
00:44 - Intro
11:00 - Alternative[self-liner note] B-Side w/Nicholas Hodges
1:26:18 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Purchase First Time in Taiwan: A Delicious Adventure digitally on our online store!
Check out our trailers for Alternative[Self Liner Note] and First Time in Taiwan!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Listen to our first podcast on Alternative[Self Liner Note]!
Listen to Gupta & Hodges at the Movies!
On this episode of Manga Mavericks, we're spotlighting the third and final of our first round of Manga Mavericks Books licenses with 9banta's Zigoku's Foreman! A workplace comedy taking place in Hell about a demon named Mizuchi, who acts as the leader of a construction crew! Join our Mavericks crew as they discuss the specific HELLISH challenges that come with releasing a work such as this one, not just with it being a combination of both manga and light novel prose, but especially with our very own Vlord having his own challenges figuring out how to learn entirely new skills in order to print this book correctly and have it come out as good as possible!
Zigoku's Foreman Vol 1 is now available for purchase on our store!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
13:36 - Zigoku's Foreman Discussion
1:12:18 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Christmas has come early for Manga Mavericks, as we’re celebrating our 250th episode with a special gift from Titan Manga, the first volume of Sanda, Paru Itagaki’s crazy dystopian manga about a kid who can transform into a buff, hot Santa Claus investigating the conspiracy behind the disappearance of his classmate! You know a manga by Paru Itagaki’s gotta be wild even without featuring horny-hungry anthropormophic animals, and we talk about everything that makes Sanda the gift that keeps on giving, from its insane bordering on psychotic characters, intriguing world building, and hilariously over-the-top interpretation and application of the Santa Claus mythos for battle manga powers. Sanda is everything that we love about manga and a wonderful way to ring in and commemorate our 250th episode!
Thanks so much to Titan Manga for inviting us to participate in the blog tour for Sanda! Check out more coverage of Sanda at the outlets listed here!
We also have another occasion to celebrate, because we’ll be exhibiting and hosting a panel for Manga Mavericks Books at New York Comic Con! It’s our first time hosting a table for Manga Mavericks Books at a convention, and we’re excited to be able to showcase our books and interact directly with fans at the show! Our booth number is 2242, and we’ll be sharing our booth with B!Juku, one of our digital manga distribution partners, and we’re located right to the left of the Viz Media booth in the small press section of the Exhibit Hall! We’ll have copies of Alternative, Bonds, and Zigoku’s Foreman volume 1 for sale at special discounted prices and free bookmarks for Alternative and Zigoku’s Foreman and a convention exclusive print for Zigoku’s Foreman, alongside other surprises and goodies available for sale and being given away at the booth!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - In Memorium: Matt Haasch
10:30 - Introducing Sanda
13:45 - Celebrating Manga Mavericks’ 250th episode!
14:55 - We’re going to be Exhibiting and Hosting a Panel at New York Comic Con!
18:03 - Sanda Review
1:00:10 - Wrap-up
1:03:56 - Shout-Outs:
My Guest Appearances on the Toonami Faithful Podcast:
ANN on the The Legal and Soft Censorship of Manga panel at Anime NYC
VLord presenting the Best New Edition of Classic Manga Award at the American Manga Awards 2025
Check out recent Interviews posted on the site!
Check out our manga trailers for:
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube. You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content. If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com. Thanks for listening.
LINKS:
Pre-Order our Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
On this episode of Manga Mavericks, we spotlight another one of our upcoming Manga Mavericks Books releases with BONDS by Zenzo! An action adventure tale that is an alternate take on Journey to the West taking place at the start of Son Goku and Sanzo's journey! We're joined by the book's translator, Robert Harkins, to discuss what his translation process was like, while the rest of the Mavericks crew spotlight Victoria's great lettering work! But what does fellow manga letterer and American Manga Awards nominee, Robert, think of the lettering work done on BONDS? Tune in as we get his LIVE REACTION! Enjoy!!
Anime Expo was a busy event for us this year, because we hosted our first-ever Manga Mavericks Books panel there! If you couldn’t go or missed it, don’t fret, because we’re sharing the audio recording of our panel here on the podcast feed, and we have the video of it up on our Youtube! So join the team behind Manga Mavericks Books in our very first industry panel and find out how the company that started as a manga podcast has transformed itself into one of the newest indie manga publishers! We made new announcements, shared some surprises, and answered Q&As from the audience!
In addition to our panel, we also did a lot of interviews and panel coverage that you’ll see posted to the site very soon. One of the interviews I did was with Whitney Leopard, the Executive Editor of Penguin House Graphic’s new Ink Pop imprint, which is dedicated to publishing manga, manwha, and webtoons for young kids and middle-grade readers! One of their debut titles is a favorite of mine, I Wanna Be Your Girl by Umi Takase, which we previously reviewed when it was first made available on Mangamo. I talk with Whitney about Ink Pop’s goals as an imprint geared towards young readers, how and why they chose to publish I Wanna Be Your Girl, and what other kinds of titles they hope to publish in the near future! I had a great interview with Whitney, and it’s the first of a trifecta of interviews from the Manga Mavericks team, as Sakaki and MangaAlerts also conducted their own interviews that they’ll publish on their respective outlets soon! In the meantime, enjoy this first of our many interviews out of AX, and a taste of some of the coverage we did at the con!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books!
00:44 - AX 2025 Intro & Overview
16:32 - Manga Mavericks Books panel at AX 2025!
1:07:32 - Interview with Whitney Leopard, Executive Editor of Ink Pop!
1:27:42 - Wrap-Up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ, @Wsstalkback, and @lumranmayasha. If you like Lum’s art, follow them on Instagram at @siddartworks. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Pre-Order our new Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
Attend our Manga Mavericks Books panels at San Diego Comic Con and Otakon!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Manga Mavericks finally went to the mecca of animation, Annecy! Annecy is the premier animation film festival and a film market designed to show off some of the best new animated projects coming out, present an opportunity for creatives to pitch or secure funding for their projects, and provide professional development opportunities for students and networking opportunities for professionals in the animation industry. VLordGTZ and our resident European contributor, Mugen, attended Annecy together and saw a LOT of movies, and lots of other cool events and presentations too, and even conducted many awesome interviews! Listen and learn about the differences in the Annecy experience for general attendees and professionals, navigating the ticketing and reservation system, tips and tricks to have the best experience as an attendee, and of course, all the amazing movies and events they got to see and interviews they got to do!
Nous aimons les desins animes!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books!
00:44 - Annecy 2025 Recap
1:41:31 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Attend our Manga Mavericks Books panels at San Diego Comic Con! and Otakon!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
On this episode of Manga Mavericks, we're spotlighting the first of our upcoming Manga Mavericks Books releases with Chiaki Yagura's Alternative[Self Liner Note]! A short story about a young artist trying to leave her mark on the world while struggling through a creative slump. Varun (aka VlordGTZ) discusses the process of finding and bringing over this wonderful story, while Sakaki (Weekly Shogakukan Edition) discusses what it was like translating something that resonated with him very personally. Enjoy!
Check out our Alternative themed Spotify playlist featuring songs from the book!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
07:43 - Alternative Discussion
1:09:33 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
“What if a Peking Opera actress became a Superhero?”
That question is both the inspiration and premise of Chang Sheng’s Taiwanese manga Yan, a series which pays homage to a variety of influences including the Peking Opera, martial arts movies, spy thrillers, revenge flicks, and sci-fi manga of all kinds of premises. Centering on Yan Tien Hua, a former teenage Peking Opera performer who resurfaces after 30 years to get revenge on those who wronged her, what starts as a seemingly straightforward revenge story a la Kill Bill soon takes twists and turns with layers of different supernatural and sci-fi concepts and premises added on top, making for a thoroughly unpredictable thrill ride as we follow Yan and her allies in their efforts to uncover the truth behind a conspiracy of potentially world-ending consequences.
Lum and VLord discuss Yan’s unique blend of influences, how it balances escalating the stakes of the story without losing its core narrative focus, Chang Sheng’s gorgeously detailed artwork and cinematic paneling, and the immaculate production design of the book from Titan Manga. Oh, and point out how one of the characters is clearly based on Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Don’t tell me you don’t see it!
Thanks so much to Titan Manga for providing us a copy of the book for this review, and for inviting us to participate in the blog tour for Yan! Check out more coverage of Yan at the outlets listed here!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books!
00:44 - Yan Review
1:05:55 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Pre-Order our Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Dun Da Dun, we’re talking about Dan Da Dan! Dan Da Dan is one of the best-produced anime on the scene, and the first three episodes of season two are currently screening in U.S. theaters as a compilation film dubbed Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye. I had the opportunity to interview the new season’s co-director, Abel Góngora, a longtime Science Saru animator who directed the beloved opening sequence for Dan Da Dan’s first season, as well as the English dub voice cast: A.J. Beckles (Okarun), Abby Trott (Momo), and Aleks Le (Jiji/Evil Eye)!
I talked with Abel about how he collaborated with first season director Fuga Yamashiro on this season and his thought process behind many of the creative choices made with the animation, color, and art direction in the show. Then, I ask the dub cast about the highlights and difficulties of performing their characters, with A.J. discussing how he captures the interiority of Okarun in both his normal and Turbo forms and tries to push himself to match or surpass Natsuki Hanae’s performance, Abby sharing how they protect their voices when having to do lots of yelling, and Aleks explaining how he manages to do all of Jiji’s crazy vocal chances all in one take and tried not to make his Evil Eye voice sound too sexy! (ymmv, ;D)
It was such a delight to do these interviews. Abel is incredibly humble about his work, but his brilliant creative vision shines on the screen. Meanwhile, I really appreciate how the dub cast are all incredibly passionate about the show and their characters and really think about their interiority and want to do right by them and the fans, and I really love how they all support and build each other up, particularly Abby and Aleks for A.J. Listening to these interviews, you get a great sense of the passion and love everyone involved has for the show, and their combined efforts really come alive on the screen.
That said, how is Evil Eye as a “movie,” or at least theatrical experience? Before getting into my interviews with the Dan Da Dan crew, I give my review of Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye and share my reasons why you should definitely take a look at it! Trust me, unlike the character of the Evil Eye, looking right at it won’t make you want to die!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books!
00:37 - Intro
04:02 - Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye Review
26:15 - Interview w/Abel Góngora, co-director of Dan Da Dan Season 2
37:34 - Interview w/A.J. Beckles, Abby Trott, & Aleks Le
54:30 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
Music Featured:
“Hooray for Hollywood” - Looney Tunes Six Flags Version
“Otonoke” - Creepy Nuts
“On the Way” - AiNA THE END
“Taidada” - Zutomayo Audio Excerpts from Dan Da Dan and GKids’ English Dub trailers for Evil Eye and Season 2
LINKS:
Pre-Order our Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Want more movie thoughts? Follow Lum and VLord on Letterboxd!
Welcome back to Manga Mavericks @ Movies! The show where we don’t just talk smack about movies, we celebrate them!
What’s up, Mavericks? Lum and VLord are here to chew bubblegum and talk Looney Tunes, and we’re all out of gum! Luckily, we still have plenty to chew on, as we’re discussing the first ever fully original 2D animated Looney Tunes movie, The Day the Earth Blew Up! Originally slated for a streaming-only release on Max, and then put at risk of being written off by WBD altogether, the film was picked up for distribution by Ketchup Entertainment, who gave it a wide theatrical release in March, and have just put it out on home video, with a streaming release on Max planned for June 27th!
We’re so glad Ketchup saved this film, because its gorgeous animation and art deserved to be seen on the biggest screen possible! We discuss how director Pete Browngardt’s delightful throwback to 1940s Bob Clampett-directed Looney Tunes shorts and 1950s sci-fi creature features is a fantastic culmination of his work on the Looney Tunes shorts over the past few years, bringing Daffy back to his wacky screwball characterization, and exploring a genuinely sweet brotherly relationship between Porky and Daffy as they team up to thwart an alien invader who seemingly plans to “blow up” the Earth using gum-chewing, bubble-blowing zombies!
Before that, Lum interviews Candi Milo, a venerable VA who stars as this film’s version of Petunia Pig, reimagined as an eccentric flavor scientist who is as explosive an on-screen presence as the gum she creates! Candi shares how she approached her performance as Petunia, her favorite gags and moments with the character, how she played off of Eric Bauza’s performance as Porky and Daffy and created her own version of Porky’s stutter, alongside lots more highlights from the recording process and her experiences with the Looney Tunes franchise!
So push the play button and pull the volume up and stick with us as we merrily go ‘round talking all about this looney powerhouse of a film until the merry-go-round breaks down!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books!
00:37 - Intro
04:45 - Interview with Candi Milo, voice of Petunia Pig!
21:26 - The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Discussion
1:08:40 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
Music Featured:
“Hooray for Hollywood” - Looney Tunes Six Flags Version
“Overture” from Merrie Melodies
“Hooray for Burbank” from Looney Tunes in Hollywood Bumper
“Push the Lever, Pull the Crack/Powerhouse Theme” from The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
LINKS:
Pre-Order our Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Want more movie thoughts? Follow Lum and VLord on Letterboxd!
Gu~ta-lala Su~da-lala! On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum are joined by manga letterer and Urasawa super fan, Aidan Clarke, as well as host of both Duckface Diaries and Podcastmon Adventures, Wensleydale Cheddar, to discuss one of Naoki Urasawa's most beloved manga series with 20th Century Boys! A multifaceted, sprawling Stephen King-esque story about a group of kids born in the 60's whose wild and active imaginations are co-opted and brought to life decades later by a cult-like figure known as "The Friend" in order to take over the world, and its up to our now grown up heroes to stop them! Join our favorite Mavericks as they jump around as much the series does in discussing every facet that stood out to them from this amazing tale! From the now seemingly prophetic story of a world on a downward spiral, to the dangers of out of control nostalgia and fanaticism, and especially...the power of music! Enjoy!
Stay tuned on our Patreon for a special bonus podcast covering the 20th Century Boys live action film trilogy coming soon!!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
03:39 - Our reaction to the reactions to Manga Mavericks Books
13:57 - Patron Shout-out!
15:10 - 20th Century Boys Discussion
2:14:19 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!
LINKS:
Hey there folks in tv land! Don’t touch that dial, and don’t change the channel, you’re tuned into the right podcast station - welcome back to Manga Mavericks On TV!
Manga Mavericks On TV is back after another 2 years to talk about another long-awaited return to the airwaves - Shinichiro Watanabe, whose latest series Lazarus finally premiered on [adult swim] in April after nearly two years of anticipation. Lazarus had a lot of pre-release buzz as not only Watanabe’s return to tv anime since Carol & Tuesday six years ago, but also for being a collaboration between him and multiple talented creators in the film and music industries, including John Wick director and stunt choreographer Chad Stahleski! But after the sour reception to [adult swim]’s unfortunately inconsistent Uzumaki anime, there’s been a lot of skepticism whether even someone of Watanabe’s reputation and pedigree can create a show so good that it earns back anime fans’ trust and goodwill. Five episodes in, has Lazarus resurrected [adult swim]’s credibility in creating good anime, or has interest in it been dying a slow death? Well, we actually got screeners for the first five episodes and recorded this podcast well in advance of the first episode’s premiere, so we don’t speak to the broader reception the show’s had so far. Instead, we discuss our thoughts on the series after the first five episodes, what stands out about it, whether it stands on its own or draws too many comparisons to Watanabe’s previous work, and if it’s lived up to the hype. So listen in to the show and learn what’s-a-”Hapna”-ing with Lazarus!
Also, if you haven’t heard, WE’RE PUBLISHING MANGA! Through our new publishing division, Manga Mavericks Books, we plan to license and publish the work of indie mangaka in Japan, and are partnering with Red String Translations to help print and distribute their books overseas. All six books will be released in both print and digital format on July 16th 2025, and pre-orders are open now on our newly launched Manga Mavericks Books Store! For more information about our titles, check out our official press release and episode 243 of the Manga Mavericks podcast. Links are in the description of this episode, and can be found on mangamavericks.com. Go to store.mangamavericks.com to check out what we’ve got in store and preorder your Manga Mavericks books today!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - We’re Publishing Manga! Pre-orders are open now for Manga Mavericks Books!
04:18 - Lazarus Episodes 1-5 Review
1:01:57 - Wrap-Up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
Music Featured:
The Beets - “Television”
Excerpts from Lazarus
Afroskull - “Me and My TV”
LINKS:
Pre-Order our books on the Manga Mavericks Books Store
Back Aneido’s Latest Kickstarter for The Soul-Selling Corporate Drone!
Listen to LumRanmaYasha discuss Lazarus with the Toonami Faithful Podcast!
Episode 5
Check out LumRanmaYasha’s art at @siddartworks on Instagram!
Watch Lazarus on [adult swim] and MAX!
“From Podcast, to Press, and now… Print!” - @kiirobon
You heard right - MANGA MAVERICKS IS PUBLISHING MANGA!!
Manga Mavericks started as a podcast dedicated to exploring manga as both a medium and as an industry, and now, Manga Mavericks is becoming a publisher dedicated to spotlighting some of the best indie artists working in the medium and industry!
We are officially announcing our new publishing division, Manga Mavericks Books! We plan to license and publish the work of indie mangaka in Japan, and are partnering with Red String Translations to help print and distribute their books overseas. We have our first set of books, three of our titles and three from Red String, set to come out in July 2025! You can already pre-order them now on our newly launched Manga Mavericks Books Store!
We are so excited for you all to see all the great manga we’ve been working on, and even more big surprises on the way. But you may be wondering, how did we get into publishing, and why are we expanding from being a press outlet into a publisher? Well, who better to answer these questions than our own CEO, publisher, and licensing director - VLordGTZ, as well as the owner of Red String and our licensing director, Victoria Esnard! VLord explains the road to Manga Mavericks getting into publishing and what his plans and vision for the company are. In addition, Victoria shares how she got into manga localization and started up Red String translations, and how she and VLord decided to partner up for Manga Mavericks Books. Listen in to learn more about Manga Mavericks Books, our launch titles, and some of the exciting projects and plans we’ve got coming down the pipe!
Thank you guys so much for joining us on this journey. Manga Mavericks would not be here without the support of listeners of our podcast and readers of our website have given us over the years. We are excited for you to join us as we turn the page and enter our next chapter - Manga Mavericks Books!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:26 - Announcing Manga Mavericks Books!
04:38 - Introducing Victoria and Red String Translations!
20:55 - The Manga Mavericks and Red String Translations partnership
24:52 - The Japanese Indie Comic Market Scene vs. North American Comic Conventions
32:23 - What to Know About Manga Mavericks Books
39:47 - How We Got Here, How Far We’ve Come
47:27 - Manga Mavericks Books’ First 3 Licenses!
BONDS by ZENZO
ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] by Chiaki Yagura
Zigoku’s Foreman by 9banta
54:03 - Red String Translations Acquisitions!
- Now No One Lurks Beneath the Snow by Aneido
- The Murderer and Her Runaway Desire by Aneido
- Senpai no Kohai by Hanakage Alt
1:05:27 - Our Release Calendar for Summer 2025
1:07:23 - Pre-Orders are open now on the new Manga Mavericks Books Store!
1:08:27 - Contact Information for Retailers and Libraries
1:11:50 - Upcoming Convention Appearances
1:13:03 - Future Plans & Short-Term Goals
1:20:58 - Where You Can Find Us & Wrap-Up!
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, let us know in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
LINKS:
Follow Red String Translations on Twitter (@RS_Honyaku)
Support Aneido’s Latest Kickstarter for The Soul-Selling Corporate Drone!
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
The time to start is now! And we can show you how! Because we’re reopening the doors to music room 3 to revisit the Host Club we remember so fondly!
That’s right, we’re finally discussing the classic parodic shojo romcom that we all kiss, kiss fell in love with back in the mid-2000s - Ouran High School Host Club! And we’re hosting our own club of Ouran fans to help us entertain all our lovely ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary listeners with their unique personalities and perspectives - music and animation academic Dr. Rose Bridges, author of a book on Yoko Kano’s Cowboy Bebop soundtrack and a contributor to ANN, animation and pop culture youtuber and cover artist Offbeat Kiki, and shojo anime and manga youtuber Shay Taree!
Together, we discuss what originally attracted us to the series when we first discovered it, what it means to us, and how our relationship with it has changed over the years and upon revisiting it. We explore how the host club serves as a place in which gender, class, and sexuality is commodified and performed, as well as a sanctuary that allows its characters to express themselves creatively and authentically. We talk about how we related to Haruhi as representation for gender non-conforming and non-binary people and how that changes over the series, as well as how well the series’ queer representation and queer-coding holds up to a modern lens. Of course, we also gush about all of the sweet juicy romance and relationships, including how Haruhi and Tamaki bond over their absent mothers, how the twins support each other, the challenge of navigating relationships within friend groups, and being afraid to lose a relationship with someone by changing it. Finally, we compare the manga with the anime and discuss what was lost or cut in translation, and why we think Ouran still resonates and is beloved by so many people to this day.
Tomorrow’s far away, so place your hope in today and listen to us discuss why we’ll always fall in love, again, with Ouran High School Host Club!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
04:14 - Ouran Discussion
2:51:58 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!
LINKS:
Welcome back to Manga Mavericks @ Movies! The show where we don’t just talk smack about movies, we celebrate them!
We’re back after (check notes) FOUR YEARS(?!) to talk about the year of film in 2024! It’s been a long time since we’ve done one of these, so you may be wondering why we were so eager to record a podcast about 2024 films than years past. While 2024 was a bad year for most of the world, it was a pretty strong year for entertainment all around, including movies. While it got off to a rough start with movies that didn’t click with audiences and hit at the box office, by the end of the year we got a lot of interesting and entertaining gems that delighted film critics and moviegoing audiences alike. I think that’s why we have an Oscars race this year where you have a lot of films people have seen and are genuinely enthusiastic about, plus Emilia Perez for some reason, and the lack of clear overwhelming favorites like Oppenheimer and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once like the past two years has made the Awards season really competitive, to the point where it’s hard to predict what will win at the Oscars this year, especially in the Best Picture race. Some critics and commentators consider 2024 a weaker year for film than years previous, but personally, this was the most engaged moviegoing year I’ve ever had. This is the first year since I (Lum) started using Letterboxd over a decade ago where I managed to see over 100 movies that came out that year within the year itself! Only time will tell which films will be remembered as part of the canon of great and essential cinema, but as far as I’m concerned, there were plenty of great films that came out in 2024 that I adore and want to explore, so we’re here to discuss them so much more!
Vlord and I each count down our Top 10 favorite films from 2024, celebrating the films we enjoyed and resonated with the most. Then, we discuss all the films and categories nominated at the 97th Academy Awards, giving our thoughts on the nominations picked for each category and speculating on who the Academy will pick as winners. As someone who has listened to lots of Oscars-related podcasts over the course of this Awards season, I can guarantee you that you won’t find a longer discussion of the Short Film categories on any other film podcasts! So get listen up and listen good to our thoughts on the best and most awarded movies of 2024 (not necessarily the same) in our nearly 4-hour long podcast that’s probably longer than this year’s Oscars ceremony itself!
Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Blu Sky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, and subscribe to us on Youtube. You can follow the hosts on twitter at @LumRanmaYasha and @VLordGTZ. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:30 - Our Favorite Films of 2024
2:10:53 - Oscars 2025 Thoughts
3:30:53 - Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up
Music Featured:
The Boston Pops Orchestra - “Hooray for Hollywood” Tim Heidecker - “Oscar Fever”
LINKS:
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!
Want more movie thoughts? Follow Lum and VLord on Letterboxd!
Check out Lum and VLord’s respective Favorite Films of 2024 Lists on Letterboxd!
On this very spooky episode of Manga Mavericks, we're joined by both Casey (MinovskyArticle) and ANN Guest Writer, Adeline, to spiral into madness as we discuss the Junji Ito magnum opus,Uzumaki! A horrifying story of a teenage couple who live in a small village that is being overrun by spirals everywhere they turn! Including twisted, contorted middle aged men, snail people, even giant curly hair! Listen as we discuss some classic Ito comics and the many underlying themes and ideas within that you may not have thought about before. Enjoy!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
06:27 - Uzumaki Discussion
1:37:58 - Wrap-up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at@mangamavericks.bsky.social, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at@sniperking323 and@lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like ourPatreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!
LINKS:
WE’RE SEEING SPIRALS! After five long years, the highly anticipated anime adaptation of Junji Ito’s iconic horror manga Uzumaki is finally premiering on Adult Swim, and we got a chance to preview and review the first episode! With an ambitious production that spiraled out of control and was so cursed with delays that executive producer Jason DeMarco has joked that he’s “still seeing spirals,” did the show end up being just as cursed to watch, or does it break the curse of Adult Swim’s track record of making middling original anime by being as good as the manga it spiraled out of?
Join Lum and VLord on this special episode of Saturday Night Shoggy as they spin out their thoughts on the first episode of this new Shoggy anime that's actually airing on Saturday night! Listen to them encircle the show’s production, animation, adaptation, music, both the Japanese and English dub performances, and other topics whilst trying not to let their fascination with the spiral get them too sucked in and make their heads spin!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
04:27 - Discussion Start
06:32 - Uzumaki’s Publication and Production Background
09:05 - The Art and Animation of the Anime
18:07 - The Adaptation and Pacing 23:43 - Colin Stetson’s Soundtrack
30:14 - Hiroshi Nagahama as a Director
32:24 - Narrative and Adaptational Changes
35:14 - Thoughts on the Sub and Dub
40:20 - Final Thoughts
41:57 - Wrap-Up
Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! If one-time donations are more your speed you can donate to LumRanmaYasha’s Ko-fi here, and if you want to support LumRanmaYasha’s art and other projects you can follow them @siddartworks on Instagram and Twitter. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!
Follow Saturday Night Shoggy on Twitter at @SatNightShoggy and on Facebook.
You can email us at satnightshoggy@gmail.com
Music Credits:
Intro - “Spiraling Shape” by They Might Be Giants, Karaoke Version provided by Karaoke Nerds
SNS Intro – “Can’t See Your Face” by AmpRen
SNS Outro – “Curtain Call” by AmpRen
Edited by LumRanmaYasha
On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton, Lum & Sakaki discuss their time at San Diego Comic Con 2024! Listen as Colton talks about going to his first ever big convention and whether he'd do it all again! Enjoy!
PODCAST BREAKDOWN:
00:00 - Intro
04:34 - San Diego Comic Con 2024
2:18:43 - End
Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! If one-time donations are more your speed you can donate to Colton’s Ko-fi here and LumRanmaYasha’s Ko-fi here, and if you want to support LumRanmaYasha’s art and other projects you can follow them @siddartworks on Instagram and Twitter and donate to their personal Patreon. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!
LINKS:
On this special episode of Another Day, Another Adventure, Colton & Sakaki have a somewhat unorganized talk in order to get their feelings out about Toriyama's passing and ruminate on what his influence meant to both the world and their friendship.
