For the #TTRPG sophisticate, there's a company making d20 ice molds.
https://orifuture.com/products/glazer-mini-d20-clear-ice-mold
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ChurchHatesTucker ☑
@ChurchHatesTucker@mefi.social
hometown 4.5.18+hometown-1.2.183 Followers
157 Following
26 Posts
Joined January 21, 2023
Metafilter:
I have a new post on #MetaFilter about William Spaniel's excellent International Affairs #YouTube channel.
https://www.metafilter.com/214598/Or-Why-Diesels-price-is-outpacing-Gasolines
Replying to
#MangaMonday 106 “You and I are Polar Opposites” by Kocha Agasawa
What if the manic pixie dream girl was the main character?
Miyu Suzuki is a friendly bundle of energy. She’s smitten by the quiet, direct (and possibly on the autism spectrum) Yusuke Tani. What’s a girl to do? Confess by the end of chapter one, of course.
Agasawa’s previous work (in #manga time) was “The Ramparts of Ice” (MM105) and at a glance this covers very similar ground; introverts and extroverts navigating relationships in a high school setting. However, the overall tone here is lighter; there’s a lot of humor peppered with some heavy moments. It’s more of an ensemble piece as well, with two other couples in the friend group getting significant story time. Character work is where Agasawa shines and here there’s more opportunity for it.
Complete with all eight volumes in English (Viz.) An excellent #anime adaptation ran last season with the (concluding?) second due next season.
#YouAndIArePolarOpposites
Replying to
#MangaMonday #102 "I Think Our Son is Gay" by Okura
A very cute #manga about the mother of a closeted #gay high school boy. She's got her son pretty well sussed out, and she tries to be discreetly supportive, but mostly she observes her son and his relationships with his peers. She also has some telling interactions with the other adults in her life.
There's an interesting dynamic with the (frequently absent on work trips) father of the house, who has more traditional views and is inadvertently hurtful to his son. Mom doesn't want to out her son, and isn't very confident in her opinions, so she runs low level interference.
There's another, younger, son who is more of a mystery (and ends up stealing most of the scenes he's in.)
Okura is a gay man himself but, as he explains in an extra chapter, he didn't come out to his mother until after volume one was published.
Complete with all five volumes available in English (Square Enix.)
#IThinkOurSonIsGay
Replying to
#MangaMonday 105 “The Ramparts of Ice” by Kocha Agasawa
I picked this #manga up after being surprised by the anime “You and I are Polar Opposites.” That manga was preceded by this, although that aired last season and this is airing this season.
We follow Koyuki Hikawa, a quiet high school freshman with the titular barrier, and her best friend Miki, a newly minted popular girl, as they navigate relationships with their peers. There’s as much exploration of friendship and self-esteem as there is romance, and a lot of the introverts/extroverts dynamics that seem to fascinate Agasawa.
This was originally a self-published webtoon that was then picked for digital and print distribution in Japan. It’s currently being translated into English in webtoon form at mangaplaza.com. The first 48 chapters are free until April 30th, which makes me think that’s how far the anime adapts. At the current rate, they should have the completed series (117 chapters) by the end of June.
#RampartsOfIce
Replying to
#MangaMonday 104 “Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook” by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan
As the subtitle gives away, this is a graphic… #cookbook in the western #comics style, rather than a #manga. Hugh Amano is a half-Japanese chef, and it’s about ramen, so good enough!
It’s a surprisingly comprehensive book, covering the history and basics of ramen in its opening section, and then diving into the details of noodles, toppings, broths, and ramen-adjacent foods (e.g. yakisoba.) Recipes are provided with recommendations for products and details for how to make your own, but even if you plan to leave the cooking to the pros, you'll learn a lot from this book.
Sarah Becan provides color throughout, from copious illustrations to simple boxes for highlighting text, all in a watercolor style.
Published in 2019 by Ten Speed Press.
#LetsMakeRamen
Replying to
#MangaMonday 112 “Axed Mangaka and Doujin Creator” by Hibito Sumi
Manga about mangaka (manga creators) are not unusual; I’ve recommended a couple before (MM60 & 61.) Mainstream #manga about doujin (fanfic, often about same-sex pairings) creators are much rarer.
Yukuru (pen name Robou) is a mangaka who’s just had his series cancelled. It was never very popular but he had one vocal fan, Chirita, who creates #doujin about the two male leads. Out of a sense of gratitude, he goes to a convention where she’s selling it and buys a copy. She assumes he’s a fellow fan and he begins to use her as a touchstone to gauge his next work.
Chirita is a fun character; she’s personable and fashionable—her day job is in retail. There’s no romantic tension so far (unless you notice the similarities between Yukuru’s editors and his male leads) and it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Chirita figures out Yukuru is Robou.
Ongoing with nine English chapters on Shueisha’s “Manga Plus” website/app.
Replying to
#MangaMonday 109 “When Arika Went Missing” by Moyashi Fujisawa (story) and Kumakuzu (art)
Lyrical Trick is a popular idol group that is set back when their center girl, Arika Mamiya, mysteriously goes missing. When the police come up empty after a year, some of her biggest fans and her childhood friend team up to find out what happened to her. They soon find that some of the
This is a decent mystery (the final twist took me by surprise) and it has some interesting group dynamics. There’s a drug use subplot that’s a bit eyerolly, but probably the best they could do in “Young Magazine” (where this was serialized.)
I don’t know what was in the air in the early twenties, but we started to see #manga take a look at the dark underbelly of the idol industry while still upholding the idea of idols. If you’re missing “Oshi No Ko” this may scratch that itch.
Complete with six Japanese volumes. Kodansha has released digital English chapters on their K MANGA app/site.
#WhenArikaWentMissing
Replying to
#MangaMonday 108 “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman (story,) Tevagah (script,) & Kuzomari (lead art)
I think this is the first western work I’ve recommended here. It’s a #webtoon, though, and those have shown up before.
For those who don’t know, #DungeonCrawlerCarl is a series of novels about the earth being exploited by aliens, with the chief resource being the entertainment value of watching some of the survivors try to survive a video game-esque dungeon.
This is the latest adaptation—there’s been a couple audio versions—and it does its job well, condensing some moments and letting visuals handle things when appropriate. It started after the series has been well under way, so we get panels showing characters entering the dungeon who won’t appear properly for a long while. The art is quite good, although some fans have complained that Carl looks too young. (He’s only 27!)
Available at webtoons.com with a graphic novel (Vault Comics) coming this month.
New #WitchHatAtelier trailer just dropped. Promising.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1reryPOMX0
#Anime #Crunchyroll
Witch Hat Atelier | Official Trailer | Crunchyroll
Replying to
#MangaMonday 107 “Inuta—My Canine Classmate” by Mattakumo-suke
Inuta-san is the cutest girl in class. She’s also dog. Literally.
This is a #manga in very short (usually four pages or fewer) chapters, all playing with the idea of a dog in school. Inu can talk and she walks on her hind legs, but she has the instincts of a typical Inu Shiba. The rest of her classmates are human (except for one who’s a cat.) It’s a very cute series that relies on the art to really sell the premise.
Available in English on the “Manga UP!” app/site, where the originals are grouped together to make still-short-but-not-ridiculously-so chapters.
#Inuta
Replying to
@wtrmt@mastodon.social Witch Hat Atelier is also doing an excellent adaptation of an excellent manga this season.
Replying to
@wtrmt So far it's a very good adaptation. Now I'm in the weird spot of waiting to see how the manga AND the anime end.
I just got back from a trip, so no #MangaMonday this week. However, riffing off last week's guidebook recommendation, you may want to check out this #HumbleBundle collection of #comics and #movies art books from the likes of George Perez, Alex Ross, Howard Chaykin, and both John Romitas.
There's a Hernandez Brothers (Love and Rockets, etc.) #HumbleBundle with 57 of their #comics
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/love-and-rockets-and-more-collected-hernandez-bros-fantagraphics-books
#MangaMonday 98 “Adabana” by NON
What’s a little dismemberment between friends?
Some mysteries are Whodunits, others are Howdunits, still others are Whydunits. This one… shifts. We know from the opening pages that Mizuki Aikawa dismembered her friend Mako Igarashi. She quickly confesses to her murder. Her lawyer senses that something isn’t adding up, but what exactly?
As you may have guessed, this is a dark #manga; there’s murder, sexual assault, and dismemberment. At its core, it’s a psychological mystery. Mizuki is the main character, but we don’t really get inside her head. This requires the visuals to do a lot of the work. Fortunately, NON’s detailed art is up to it.
Complete with two of three volumes released in English (Dark Horse.) The third is coming in June.
Replying to
@BrianBinh@dice.camp "You're a smartass, Harry."
It tracks.
Replying to
#MangaMonday 100 “Yuko, the Ghost in My Room” by Nobuko Takekawa
Kanna has rented an apartment that is haunted. Fortunately, he’s never been scared of ghosts. He quickly dubs the mostly silent but very present ghost “Yuko” (from “Yurei,” ghost.)
Originally released on X/Twitter, this has VERY short chapters—from one to a handful of pages each. (I think they were reorganized into longer chapters for the #manga publication.) It’s a format the fits the story well, with small incidents providing the building blocks for Kanna’s growing understanding of his “roommate” and his own feelings for her. At heart, it’s a romance in a bottle, with almost everything happening in the apartment.
Ongoing with two(?) volumes in Japan. English chapters are available online at Manga UP!
#YukoTheGhostInMyRoom
Replying to
#MangaMonday 101 “[OSHI NO KO] TV Anime 1st Season Official Guidebook: First Report” by Aka Akasaka (Author) & Mengo Yokoyari (Artist)
OK, it’s not a #manga, but it’s an book about an #anime based on a manga. Close enough! I also realized I haven’t recommended the original, so consider this a back-door recommendation.
“Oshi No Ko” the anime is winding up its second season, but Yen Press just released this translation of the guidebook to the first. If you’ve seen similar books, you’ll know what to expect. There’s a lot of illustrations, model sheets of the various characters, and interviews with the voice actors and some of the staff (including the manga creators, who are given titular credit for this as well.) There’s even interviews with the musicians who did the opening and ending credits.
Yen Press did a good job with this. Even though there’s no sequential images, the book reads right to left at the column of text level, preserving the feel of the original.
#OshiNoKo
Replying to
#MangaMonday 110 “Confession” by Nobuyuki Fukumoto (Story) & Kaiji Kawaguchi (Art)
Ishikura confesses to Asai that he murdered Sayuri.
The two of them are lost in a snowstorm while attempting to scale Mt. Owari. It’s something both of them have done several times as part of a larger group—the murder occurred on one such expedition—but this time the elements combined with Ishikura’s broken leg mean that his is a deathbed confession. Then Asai discovers that the way station cabin they had been searching for is nearby. Ishikura’s life is saved, but the confession hangs heavily between the both of them.
This is a psychological thriller #manga, reminiscent of pre-code EC #comics. It’s a nicely compact story, at only 300 pages. It was first serialized in 1998, but due to the setting the only tell is the style of the cell phones. This English edition (Kodansha) came out in 2024, coincidentally the same year it was adapted as a live-action Japanese #film.
#Confession
Replying to
#MangaMonday 111 “The Swamp” by Yoshiharu Tsuge
Tsuge is one of those artists who was influential when manga was becoming #manga.
He got started in the postwar rental book market (think DVD rentals, but for books (ask your parents about DVD rentals.)) When that market started to dry up he was recruited by the seminal “Garo” magazine—literally. Nobody on staff knew how to contact him so they put a notice in the magazine asking him to get in touch.
This volume (Drawn & Quarterly, 2020) collects eleven of his stories from that period. (Technically they’re all from “Garo,” but four of them were redraws of his earlier works.) Series editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa contributes a fifteen page afterwards that alone is worth the price of admission.
It’s an interesting collection that shows inklings of Tsuge’s later, more influential, work. “Chirpy” is probably closest to that, but it falls in the middle of this (temporally arranged) volume.
#TheSwamp
Adding "The Apartment", the 1960 Bill Wilder (alleged) romantic comedy, to my list of Christmas #movies. It came out in June and grossed $24 million on a $3 million budget, so it also counts as a summer blockbuster.
I have a new #MetaFilter post about #grammar and #murder
I have a new post on #MetaFilter https://www.metafilter.com/214453/Help-Windows-Me
Inspired by this post from @textfiles@mastodon.archive.org
@textfiles@mastodon.archive.org
#WinHelp