End of an Era

Hey all so I wasn’t at all expecting to have to write this post. So it will be rather brief, and while I’m not taking a break from writing, I am going to have to change my columns for a while, maybe permanently.

What’s Up?: So for those unaware Bato.to is shutting down permanently on the 18th of this month. It’s a huge loss to the Manga community at large, and while some of you might say “Michael they supported Pirates” That isn’t true. Any licensed series were not hosted on Batoto.

So Why Are Things Changing?: I used Batoto almost exclusively to find obscure series for my Manga Monday and Sensate Saturday columns. Losing easy access to such a large repository of content is going to seriously put a hamper on what I’ll be able to read for material to write about in those columns.  So things are going to have to change, maybe permanently.

What’s Changing?: Well obviously my Manga Monday and Sensate Saturday columns are going to be put on hold and replaced with something else. I’ve had a backup type of content in the wings in case something like this happened, although I wasn’t expecting it to occur because of Batoto shutting down. The Sensate Saturday series has a high chance of being permanently shelved in favor of that backup, and while I have tons of content to write about for that column that’s it. I do have a temporary solution for my Monday columns, however I have absolutely no confidence in that being a permanent solution due to the nature of what I’ll be writing about and my own personal disabilities and challenges. The worst case possibility that occurs is that I have to stop writing my Monday columns permanently after I run out of material for my temporary replacement of Manga Monday. Hopefully by the time I’ve run out of material the Manga translation scene will have calmed down enough. That however is an unknown and I can’t promise anything.

What Are You Going To Write About?: Well I’ll keep that under wraps for now, though I will say that Monday’s post is going to be fiery. That’s the sole hint you’ll be getting from me. If by some miracle someone manages to guess what I’m writing about and posts their guess in the comments I’ll be shocked. And yes this is a complete and shameless attempt to get people to post more comments on my posts.

That’s it, I hope you’ll all forgive me for having to do this, but circumstances have forced me to put plans in action that I was hoping I’d never have to do.

Manga Monday: Yuukoku no Moriarty by Takeuchi Ryousuke

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got a really interesting Quick Review for you all. It’s Yuukoku no Moriarty, or Moriarty the Patriot, by Takeuchi Ryousuke!

Plot Synopsis: The story of Sherlock Holmes, reimagined with Moriarty as the protagonist and exploring his motivation in becoming the greatest criminal Britain has ever seen….

Plot: This isn’t a happy story, it doesn’t reimagine Moriarty into some noble hero. However if you ever wondered why Moriarty did what he did, this gives a good guess as to the explanation. I won’t spoil anything further, but I’ll just say I was hooked by the end of the chapter, I might even see about getting my Aunt to read this, as she loves Sherlock Holmes.

Characters: William is our lead character, and the rest of the cast is good as well. I won’t spoil anything, though we don’t get introduced to Sherlock yet in this first chapter.

Art: The art is excellent, easily meeting Shueisha’s standards. Given that this is are published by Shueisha that should come as no shock.

Overall: Yuukoku no Moriarty is quite an interesting read, and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes.

 

 

Sensate Saturday: Hakase to Slime-chan by Isaki Nayuta

This week for Sensate Saturday I’ve got a more upbeat story. It’s Hakase to Slime-chan by Isaki Nayuta!

Plot Synopsis: A Professor had created what he hoped to be an artificial human, but what came out of the large holding tube wasn’t a human, but a Slime?!?

Plot: The plot is very Slice of Life and more about comedy than anything else. There is no action, no damsels to save or Demon Kings to vanquish. Just a guy who wanted to make an artificial human and got a slime instead.

Characters: Both the professor and Lime are amusing, however they are not incredibly deep character wise. This may change in later chapters of the series, but I haven’t read ahead of the currently translated material. So while they are amusing, and somewhat heartwarming, it wasn’t enough for me to want to find the untranslated chapters of this completed series.

Art: The art is okay, not super amazing and nowhere near Shueisha level of quality, but it’s in full color which is a bit of a rarity when it comes to Manga, although this technically is a Webtoon or Web Comic where such things are much more commonplace.

Overall: If you’re bored this might be worth a quick read.

For those who like: Slice of Life, Supernatural Stuff, Decent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Fuku wo Kiru Nara by Shimano Yae

It’s the last post of 2017, I’d like to think the next year is going to be good, but that seems unlikely with all the stuff that’s gone down in the last year. At least we’ll have stories to let us get away from reality, right?   I’ve got another Quick Review for this Manga Monday. It’s Fuku wo Kiru Nara by Shimano Yae!

Plot Synopsis: Yuusuke, an average office worker, meets with his friend at a reunion — only to realise that the fashion world has left him behind. Now, with the help of his sister Tamaki, Yuusuke steps into the world of trend and charisma…

Plot: This is a surprisingly decent series, or it might just be my fever raddled brain telling me that. Take these past two weeks of content with a grain of salt. Either way I enjoyed reading this, although I’ll probably give it another whirl when I’m not so sick that I can’t remember which day of the week it is.

Characters: Yuusuke is a pretty average college grad who is now working the daily grind, or as they call them in Japan a Salaryman. Tamaki on the other hand seems to be a pretty awesome female lead which I think she is? I can’t tell, and I’m not going to spend the brain power on determining that distinction over at the moment. Sorry you’re going to be getting some ramblings from me while I write with my cold going on. Either way they are interesting characters, and I prefer Tamaki over Yuusuke, but hopefully he gets it together in later chapters.

Art: The art is very good, easily reaching Shueisha levels of work.

Overall: A great read, although if you want action and adventure you’re going to want to skip this series.

For those who like: Slice of Life, Comedy, Fashion, Great Plot, Awesome Lead Characters, Excellent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Sensate Saturday: Otonari Complex by Nonomura Saku

This week for Sensate Saturday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Otonari Complex by Nonomura Saku!

Plot Synopsis: Kuji Akira and Ninomiya Makoto have been neighbours and friends from childhood. Akira is handsome and Makoto is pretty.  Their feelings for each other are growing more complex just as they are finding themselves the focus of romantic interest of their friends and acquaintances…

Plot: The plot is pretty good. I’ve probably read a few series with similar if not exactly the same plot device as it’s core drive, but I can’t remember them right now (still sick and I’m writing this in advance due to holidays), however I enjoyed this quite a bit even if I think I may have read something similar before. Or I might not have, doesn’t matter to me, I enjoyed Otonari Complex quite a bit.

Characters: Akira and Makoto are our two leads and they are pretty awesome, but still wasn’t expecting that to occur. Either way I really enjoyed their characters. So I’ll probably end up reading this series in full one day. Once it’s fully completed probably.

Art: The art is very good, it’s comparable to Shueisha levels of work, if not meeting that standard.

Overall: A great read, definitely worth a shot.

For those who like: Slice of Life, Drama, Romance, School Life, Interesting Plot, Great Lead Characters, Excellent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.