Manga Kaiwa Podcast

Firstly, R.I.P. Toriyama Akira, creator of Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and other treasured works…

When a storyteller entrusts their work to another author, it can get messy, but it can also create some of the most interesting developments in the story and fandom. Series like Dragon Ball, Naruto and Berserk have changed hands in one form or another, and the discussions around the topic tend to be highly controversial. 

Do continuations like Dragon Ball Super and Boruto only distort the legacy of their parent series, or do they perhaps have something truly interesting to offer? Maybe both? When it comes to media, discussions around stories transcending their creators are certainly some of the most valuable to be had, and, today, we join in on the conversation!

Are Musashi and Thorfinn really that similar? Are tragic manga endings the ones that get received most poorly? How much does canonicity actually matter? Oh, and we’ve got some opinions on a few Dragon Ball Z films as well (*cough* Gogeta vs. Vegeto). This time we do a bit of experimenting with an unstructured episode touching on a plethora of topics!

Time to talk about the GOAT! This time we (over)analyze one of the newest Berserk chapters which follows Casca’s unnerving, psychedelic confinement in Falconia. Man it’s awesome to have new content to rant about for this beautiful series! Regardless of what it is (it’ll probably be peak anyway) :)

Anime, manga, and sword wielders are inseparable, and, as two guys who can’t get enough of animanga badassery, it would be unthinkable for us not to make a top ten celebrating this holy trinity!

This has got to change. We’ve been at this for over a year and STILL haven’t done a Top 10 Most Badass Characters list? Badass characters emitting outrageous cool factor performing ridiculous feats of power is the only reason many people need to get into Animanga, and, honestly, that’s fair. That’s why, today, we’re doing what we should have done a long time ago…

You can really tell just how old storytelling is when you watch five different shows and feel like you’re seeing the same characters with a different appearance. What you’re experiencing there is one of the foundational pillars of fiction! You could sort Natuto, Luffy, and Asta into one or Guts, Thorfinn and Eren into another; this time we’re discussing what we consider the most important character archetypes in animanga. From the mentor figures to the hot-headed upstarts, look forward to us ranting about them all.

Settings are quite literally “the background”, but who ever said “the background” is unimportant? Particularly in the bombastic stories of animanga, the world the events of the series take place in can shape its identity, keeping readers engaged with unique ways of life, civilizations, and natural phenomena that push the plot forward. Today, we celebrate the often overlooked awesomeness of setting with our 10 favorites!

Here’s a bold statement: another name for “catharsis,” or the emotional “payoff” in a story, is “minor villains”. See what I did there? Especially in animanga, Mini-bosses are the most popular way writers build up the tension and anticipation around a main villain’s defeat, and in this episode of Manga Kaiwa, we count down our top ten minor antagonists!

What's the first thing you think of when you think of fighting anime? Is it perhaps... a hero screaming out the name of his ultimate technique!? Of course it is, which is why we're returning with an episode dedicated to listing off our top 10 attacks in animanga!

What if we told you we could talk about the same topics as usual AND change up the usual pool of series we tend to talk about? Well, this time we’re discussing our top 10 casts in animanga. Since we considered likeability, variety, and dynamics as opposed to how individual characters are written, this list will include a whole slew of entries that we don’t talk about as often, but definitely deserve praise!

Vagabond’s fights are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, literally (they’re artistically guaranteed to blow your mind) but in other ways nonetheless. Throughout the run of Vagabond, Inoue Takehiko was able to continually hone his ability to fuse psychological and physical conflict until they were nearly one and the same. This episode, we discuss where that journey started: the battle between the warrior monk Inshun and Miyamoto Musashi himself.

Especially when an animanga series runs for a long time, the story naturally divides into different arcs, each addressing different characters, conflicts, and plot threads. Some arcs can have such monumental consequences on the identity of a story that they start to be perceived almost like their own “story” or “brand”, independently from the overarching narrative. Today, in appreciation of this phenomenon, we count down our 10 favorite arcs in animanga!

Bleach’s unmistakable tone and aesthetic give it a “feeling” that no other animanga series has managed to create. In this episode, we try to express what that feeling is, and how it stands out proudly among the many stories we’ve experienced so far. So, what makes Bleach special?

It's here. The rite of passage performed by animanga creators for generations... our top 10 fights in anime and manga! What screams anime or manga more than super serious cartoon people clashing body and soul? Of course, while almost all fights are entertaining, some ascend beyond being a simple spectacle and engage the audience emotionally, technically, and narratively. Ranking these moments of peek intensity is arguably impossible, but we had to try our luck. Here's the result!

You've seen it happen. Just recently with the conclusion of the manga "Attack on Titan", as well as with countless older series like "Bleach" or "Naruto", we've seen well respected series loose so much of their acclaim just with the release of their final chapters. When you've built a following for your series and carried the hopes and emotions of millions of fans for years or even decades, ending that story is more than just daunting. In today's episode, we discuss the terrifying undertaking that is ending an animanga series and why it may very well be the most challenging part of a storyteller's journey. 

Welcome back. Manga Kaiwa is kicking off it's return with our top 10 favorite Anime Soundtracks. As much art and animation define anime as what it is, OSTs bring an entirety different level of intensity to the experience, so there was no way we weren't going to have a discussion about which one's did so the best in our view!

Morphing into a buff dude with chainsaws sprouting out of his limbs or summoning a glowing ninja cloak are things you rarely see outside of Anime and Manga. Power-ups are a trademark of the medium to say the least and, when done right, can enhance the development of the plot and characters while giving us some incredible visuals! We know how stunning and iconic these moments can be, so we had no choice but to dedicate this episode of the MK Podcast to our Top 10 animanga transformations.

**Spoilers in episode!**

Askladd’s death was shocking and glorious, marking a crucial turning point in the character arc of the protagonist, Thorfinn, and the plot of Vinland Saga. Today, we delve into the many paths the story could have taken had Askeladd survived the infamous throne room scene. What would an inevitably exiled Askeladd decide to do with the Danish vikings hot on his heels? What path would Thorfinn choose to take after Askeladd’s utterly unforeseeable massacre of King Sweyn and his court? We’ll see.

Protagonists, Antagonists, and now rivals? Yeah yeah, we know we're starting to check off all of those textbook Anime Top 10s. But we are spicing it up by pushing the boundaries set by the traditional concept of  a “rivalry”! This episode, we list all sorts of rival duos from a combat-crazed ninja clown obsessed with a seemingly invincible super-powered assassins to two sworn enemies who can’t seem to kill each other because they’ve become inseparable bros. Give it a listen!

Your "To Watch/Read" list is overflowing too? Yep, there's an overwhelming sea of completed Animanga content out there, and more and more ongoing gems are appearing everyday. So we talked it out! This episode, we establish our bucket lists of Animanga series we plan on getting into, and discuss what we've been watching/reading recently. 

As we get older and experience ourselves that we aren't perfect or pure (and nor is the world), your classic evil-for-the-sake-of-being-evil antagonists start to get really bland. The "bad guys" need to become more complex the more we learn that pure good and evil don't exist. Since animanga fans are spoiled rotten with its huge selection of multi-faceted, well-executed villains, we had an obligation to count down our top 10 antagonists in the medium! 

The release of its 364 chapter marks the end of Berserk as we know it. Now, whether the series will be finished by its author Kentaro Miura's assistants or not is only one of many questions. Is it a waste of Miura's efforts and planning not to continue Berserk after he seemingly trained people to finish it in case he wasn't able to? Is it possible for fans just to ignore Berserk past chapter 364 if the continuation isn't to their liking? We explore these and many more questions regarding the future of arguably to greatest work in Manga history in this episode of The Manga Kaiwa Podcast. 

Edgy to kind, naive optimist to depressed nihilist, hesitant to confident... almost every story must display changes in it's characters to create a sense of progress from start to finish. Of course, only the best mangaka and animators succeed at writing characters that develop in a believable and captivating way. Here are our top 10 best character developments in anime and manga. 

We've been fans long enough to witness a lot of drastic changes in the community since we first started consuming anime and manga. In this episode, we comment on everything from our early experiences of few consumers of anime and manga among few, to the current era of Animanga in the mainstream.

We ended up revisiting the "time capsule" from the very first episode a lot sooner than expected! Since recording Episode 1, both of us have experienced incredible series good enough to change up our top series significantly. And just to give you all an idea of what series we think are some the best but don't quite breach our top 10, we present our current top 15 animanga series, THE MANGA KAIWA SEASON 2 PREMIER. 

To celebrate our friendship as we move on to different parts of the world to continue along our journeys, we discuss our favorite duos in animanga. Whether it be in battle, through strife and trauma, or in the happiest of times, the way creators are able to use the narrative to develop two characters' relationship to one another has resulted in one of the most important factors that makes anime and manga the unique art forms they are. 

Just as protagonists must collaborate to defeat threats, antagonists band together to accomplish their own goals or their objective as a group. While the Espada from Bleach demonstrate a strong unity under a powerful leader, the Akatsuki from Naruto show how antagonists various ambitions create a less tight-knit group. This time, we look at these two very different antagonistic organizations and how they advance their respective narratives. 

What qualifies something as a weapon? The medium of animanga challenges our understanding of weapons and what they are to characters with various philosophies. Today, we discuss the weapons we feel best encapsulate their place in the narrative. 

Two raging warriors without the slightest regard for their own safety, with only the defeat of their opponent in mind! In this week's episode, we explore how a fight between Guts from Berserk and Gon from HxH, two characters notorious for their rage and relentlessness, would play out.

What would you do if you were suddenly given an ability that could achieve your wildest ambitions? This is a question explored in both the character of Light in Death Note and Lelouch in Code Geass. In this episode, we share or interpretations of how these protagonists answer that question in both similar and very different ways. 

Protagonists are the lens through which we experience a series, meaning that our impressions of a series are shaped by their personality and goals. That's why we felt we couldn't talk about our favorite series without following up with our favorite protagonists! Here are our top 10 favorite protagonists in animanga. 

This time, we discuss our top 5 favorite power/battle systems in anime and manga. We won't just be limiting ourselves to the typical "inner energy" types, but will considering any consistent way of fighting within a series in general. 

What if Casca didn't survive the eclipse? In this episode, we discuss the massive ramifications Casca's death would have on Guts' journey.

Welcome to Manga Kaiwa! To kick things off with this first episode, we go over our top 10 anime/manga series so far, which we plan on updating with future lists that may have changed. Tune in next week for a Berserk what if discussion!