Cannonball Read 18

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Urasawa’s The Best For A Reason — Master Keaton Showcases His Strengths

Master Keaton (Volume 7) by Naoki Urasawa

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One of my all time favorite series from one of my all time favorite authors — Master Keaton seems like it’s overlooked in favor of Urasawa’s other masterpieces, Monster and 20th Century Boys, but I think it offers a ton of thrills and heartfelt moments as well, and I’m excited to finally finish the series (five volumes to go!). Every moment spent looking at Urasawa’s cartooning is a delight and a privilege. Taichi Hiraga Keaton is a former SAS man now working as an insurance investigator, and […]

The girl who won’t quit

Asadora!, Volume 8 by Naoki Urasawa

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Due to some of the “extras” in the story itself, and the multiple story lines happening at once, things are a little slower than I would have liked, making Asadora!, Volume 8 by Naoki Urasawa a 3.5 or even 3.75 and not a “pure four.”  However, this edition shows more of the history of Japan in the 23 years after the war and what the later 1960s looked like. This has not been as explored due to the fact we have been monster hunting up […]

Now I have to wait until November/December for book 8!

Asadora!Vol. 7 by Naoki Urasawa

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cbr16bingo Rings (Japan hosting the 1964 Olympics) Asadora!Vol. 7 by Naoki Urasawa is a manga series that I, for some reason, became hooked on. I am not a manga reader, especially when it is in the traditional Japanese format. I do not usually like horror or monsters. And honestly, a couple of the characters in the story are stereotypes of Japanese people, with the “slant eyes,” odd mustaches, and old/ugly. And yet, there is something about the character Asa that just “gets me” in the […]

A doctor and serial killer cat and mouse game.

Monster, Volume 1 by Naoki Urasawa

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This manga has been making the rounds on YouTube, so when Read Harder prompted me to read a graphic novel/comic/manga if I hadn’t before (I had of course) OR read one in a genre I hadn’t read from before, this manga started calling out to me. I’ve actually read almost every genre I can think of in graphic format, but for some reason I’ve overlooked crime/suspense/thriller. Tracking this down was a bit of a challenge, especially because my library doesn’t have any copies, but luckily […]

The girl who won’t quit

Asadora! V06 by Naoki Urasawa

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CBR15Passport country (Japan)   Manga and I have an interesting relationship. I appreciate it, and it does its own thing. But occasionally that thing has me going along for the ride.  And the series by Naoki Urasawa, Asadora! has me riding (so far) all six volumes. (This volume is translated by John Werry) While slower than the others, this is a good build-up for volume 7 (planned for October 2023). And while these “in-between novels” are a nice way to give you more information about […]

Three Great Manga Short Story Collections

All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga

Don't Say Any More, Darling by Fumi Yoshinaga

Sneeze by Naoki Urasawa

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I read these three books today as a relaxing re-read of two of my favorite manga artists. Fumi Yoshinaga and Naoki Urasawa have very distinct sensibilities, but I think they both have a facility with emotion and the ability to pack a lot of characterization, both spoken and unspoken, into a drawing. All three of these books are short story collections, which enables you to see more of the breadth of both authors’ work. All My Darling Daughters is made up of interconnected short stories […]



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