Osamu Tezuka is one of the most influential mangaka in the history of the medium, penning juggernaut hits like Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) and essentially launching manga and anime into the mainstream. But his 1967 historical manga Dororo never caught much traction until 2019, when Tezuka Productions and MAPPA adapted it into the serious drama anime that we’ve grown to love over these past two seasons.
If you’ve been reading manga and watching anime for long enough, you’ll recognize a number of strange visual gags that don’t make inherent sense to Western minds. We easily understand our own cultural symbols and jokes (like a raincloud appearing over someone’s head when they’re sad), but those that come from Japanese society and language can be confusing.
Today, we’re here to discuss three more of our favorite visual gags from manga, touching on their histories and our favorite examples from each. Let’s jump right in!
We Westerners have become accustomed to manga’s unique weirdness over time, but some jokes still go over our heads. Why did a crow caw in the background when a character said something stupid? Why do people who are late to school/work run out of the door with toast in their mouths?
Today, we’re here to explore the ins and outs of these classic manga visual gags by digging into their histories and highlighting our favorite examples of each one. Let’s get started!
Our first impression of Spring 2019 was that it would have a solid lineup for fans of fantasy and supernatural shows, particularly those who know and love retro anime. We got fresh material from visionary directors, updated remakes of beloved classics, and the latest seasons of our favorite long-running series. We also saw a few sprightly newcomers with enough intrigue to capture our attention. So now that we’re shifting into summer, let’s take a look back to see how these anime held up based on our expectations of them from the beginning of the season! Which shows have cemented themselves as instant classics, and which are soon to be forgotten?
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of Zelda is a new 2D Zelda romp based on the indie roguelike rhythm game Crypt of the NecroDancer and was developed by the same studio. It released a few days after it was revealed in Nintendo’s presentation at E3 2019 as a downloadable Switch title and we’re happy to tell you that it’s absolutely worth your time! Let’s check out why you should drop everything and play Cadence of Hyrule right now.
Dramatic anime run the gamut from school romance to fantasy to historical epic and much more, so even though female protagonists are in the minority in anime, narrowing down our picks for this genre was a tall order. We decided to focus on ladies who stuck out to us as realistic, emotionally engaging, and highly memorable. They’re not just eye candy or token representation, but fully developed people who teach us about ourselves through their actions. Let’s meet them, shall we?
