Manga Machinations

Manga Mac Crew

**New Episodes every Monday!** Join hosts dakazu, darfox8, Seamus2389, and Morgana Santilli for Manga Machinations! Our weekly manga discussions focus on introducing lots of unknown manga and doing in-depth retrospective reviews of titles such as ‘Tokyo Tarareba Girls’, ‘BLAME!’, Tezuka Osamu’s ‘Phoenix’, and more! Get more info at mangamachinations.com and send emails to [email protected]

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Top 10 Manga Machinations Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Manga Machinations episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Manga Machinations for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Manga Machinations episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

463 - Manga in Motion 59 - Belle

Manga Machinations

09/03/23 • 102 min

This week we talk about Mamoru Hosoda's Belle! What does dakazu have to say about the singing?! We also share our thoughts on the new Netflix One Piece show!!!

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Timestamps:

Intro Song: “Are You Ready For Me Baby” by Funk Giraffe, Opening, Introductions, Manga Machinations Ko-fi, Holidays, Mahjong Machinations - 00:00:00
Seamus is going to AEW All Out - 00:03:40
Replies about The First Slam Dunk - 00:09:24
Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: “Funkymania” by The Original Orchestra, Darfox shows off his decorated card from The Anime Nostalgia Podcast's Dawn - 00:10:55
Darfox and dakazu give their impressions on the Netflix One Piece show - 00:16:43
*SPOILERS* Netflix One Piece show - 00:27:43
D. Diver is about a criminal law student who gets criminals to confess by beating them up in his dreams - 00:54:11
Next Episode Preview and Rundown: 9 Year Anniversary Retrospective Redux: Pluto with Aidan Clarke, We will be celebrating 9 years of Manga Machinations with guest Aidan Clarke by discussing manga lettering and Billy Bat, along with revisiting Naoki Urasawa's adaptation of the classic Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" - 00:59:46
Main Segment Manga in Motion: Belle, Transition Song: “It’s Over” by Generation Lost, We watch Mamoru Hosoda’s anime film based on Beauty and the Beast - 01:03:55
Next Week’s Topic: Pluto, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “Crazy for Your Love” by Orkas - 01:40:42

421 - Shojo Showdown 4 - MARS, Midnight Secretary, Ouran High School Host Club

Manga Machinations

11/13/22 • 104 min

On this episode Morgana leads the charge for another Shojo Showdown! We examine the first volumes of MARS, Midnight Secretary, and Ouran High School Host Club! We also discuss Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, SPY X FAMILY, Tongari Boushi no Kitchen, The Gamestars, and more!!!

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Timestamps:

Intro Song: “Are You Ready For Me Baby” by Funky Giraffe, Opening, Introductions, Work survivor’s guilt - 00:00:00
Listener Mail: Anime remakes - 00:04:51
Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: “Funkymania” by The Original Orchestra, *SPOILERS* Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War has a stupid power creep and looks great - 00:15:12
Anime discussion on Mob Psycho 100, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, My Hero Academia, and Golden Kamuy - 00:20:35
Morgana has been watching Chainsaw Man and SPY X FAMILY anime with her husband - 00:26:41
dakazu has read way more of the Witch Hat Atelier spin-off, Tongari Boushi no Kitchen, than the series proper - 00:35:08
Utsubyou ni natte Manga ga Kakenaku narimashita follows Koji Aihara as he suffers suicidal thoughts during the COVID-19 pandemic - 00:37:34
dakazu loved Natsume Ono’s new manga The Gamestars - 00:43:18
Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Retrospective on Chainsaw Man, We will discuss and review Tatsuki Fujimoto’s horror comedy shonen battle series with special guest Marion(covers vols 7-9) - 00:47:36
Main Segment Shojo Showdown: Ouran High School Host Club/Midnight Secretary/MARS, Transition Song: “It’s Over” by Generation Lost, We read the beginning of each shojo manga for discussion and to see if we’d continue reading it before picking our favorite of the three - 00:49:04, Including:
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori - 00:50:43
Midnight Secretary by Tomu Ohmi - 01:07:48
MARS by Fuyumi Soryo - 01:19:47
We pick our favorite out of the three shojo manga - 01:40:05
Next Week’s Topic: Chainsaw Man , Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “Crazy for Your Love” by Orkas - 01:42:51

417 - Triple Dip 66 - Franken Fran, Wonderland, Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation

Manga Machinations

10/16/22 • 101 min

October Extravaganza continues with Morgana and Darfox returning from New York Comic Con! We discuss their trip, Bad Boys, Happy Home, Fire Punch, Chainsaw Man, and more! Then we check out Franken Fran, Wonderland, and Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation for a Triple Dip!!!

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Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

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Buy us a Kofi! https://ko-fi.com/mangamac

Timestamps:

Intro Song: “The One Eyed Captain - Captain Qubz Remix” by Captain Qubz, Opening, Introductions - 00:00:00
Darfox and Morgana recap their trip to New York Comic Con and the This Manga is Awesome! panel - 00:01:09
Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: “Can’t Look Down” by Ty Simon, Morgana was read volume 2 of Bad Boys, Happy Home - 00:23:43
*SPOILERS* Seamus compares themes from Fire Punch to other media - 00:27:27
Darfox and dakazu gush over the Chainsaw Man anime - 00:40:54
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is very similar to Revolutionary Girl Utena - 00:49:17
dakazu gives his first impressions of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - 00:52:38
Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Manga in Motion on Pet Shop of Horrors, We will review the 1999 anime adaptation of Matsuri Akino’s horror manga about a mysterious pet shop in Chinatown - 00:55:12
Main Segment Triple Dip: Wonderland/Franken Fran/Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Transition Song: “K.I.T.T. Vs. K.A.R.R” by Ian Post, We read the first volume of three different horror manga for discussion and to see if we’d continue reading it before picking our favorite - 00:57:49, Including:
Wonderland by Yugo Ishikawa - 00:58:43
Franken Fran by Katsuhisa Kigitsu - 01:11:14
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by Yoshiyuki Nishi - 01:23:49
We pick our favorite out of the three manga - 01:38:33
Next Week’s Topic: Pet Shop of Horrors, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “Ghost Waltz” by Ziv Moran - 01:40:15

394 - Saikyo Selections 15 - City Hunter

Manga Machinations

05/08/22 • 138 min

Welcome to the start of our Multimedia Retrospective on City Hunter! Throughout the rest of this month of May we’ll be looking at various iterations of the girl chasing private detective, Ryo Saeba! For this first episode we will be examining the original manga and the various spinoffs by Tsukasa Hojo! And stay tuned after the episode for a bonus spoiler discussion on The Batman!!!

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Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

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Buy us a Kofi! https://ko-fi.com/mangamac

Timestamps:

Intro Song: “Crime Scene’” by DoGBeaT, Opening, Introductions, Darfox is busy from being too handsome - 00:00:00
Listener Mail: Our favorite “Haha” podcast moments - 00:03:55
Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: “Funkymania” by The Original Orchestra, Morgana wants listeners to check out Lost Lad London and Let’s Go Karaoke! - 00:10:12
*SPOILERS* Darfox read Oshi no Ko and enjoyed it - 00:13:28
dakazu thinks Koyoharu Gotouge could comfortably retire from the weekly manga grind - 00:24:37
Black Clover continues to be an inconsistent mess of animation quality for dakazu - 00:26:08
dakazu’s wife was bothered by some occasional mispronounced Italian in Ristorante Paradiso - 00:27:37
Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Manga in Motion on City Hunter, we will review the 1993 Chinese action comedy film adaptation directed by Wong Jing and starring Jackie Chan - 00:31:56
Main Segment Saikyo Selections: City Hunter, Transition Song: “Sunset Ride” by HVRDVR, we examine the beginning of City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo for review and we discuss the various adjacent manga series of Cat’s Eye and Angel Heart - 00:33:36
Next Week’s Topic: City Hunter, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “Crazy for Your Love” by Orkas - 01:32:01
Bonus spoiler-talk about The Batman - 01:33:40

315 - One Shot 30 - Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist

Manga Machinations

10/04/20 • 125 min

Welcome to the start of our October Extravaganza at Manga Machinations! We’re going to be covering creepy, spooky, and horrific content all month long! To start, we’re doing a One Shot on Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist! Dawn from The Anime Nostalgia Podcast joins us to discuss Asumiko Nakamura’s psychological thriller about a novelist haunted by a mysterious woman who threatens to expose his secret of plagiarism!!!

Follow Dawn on Twitter! Listen to The Anime Nostalgia Podcast!

Remember to send us emails! [email protected]

Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

Check out our tumblr! http://mangamachinations.tumblr.com Join our Discord! https://discord.me/mangamac

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro Song: “Shichiten Battou no Blues” by THE PINBALLS from Junji Ito Collection, Opening, Introductions, Catching up with Dawn
00:03:42 - Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: Dragon Ball Z OST “Prologue”, Dawn comments on how hefty the hardcover editions of The Rose of Versailles are
00:08:29 - Dawn has been reading The Drifting Classroom and reacquired Love Song: 4 Tales
00:12:32 - Seamus really wants us to know that he watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
00:13:14 - Darfox teases the shocks and terrors in Blood on the Tracks volume 2
00:15:20 - Burn the Witch focuses on Tite Kubo’s strengths of “cool looking art”
00:23:37 - The Panorama of Hell was dakazu’s first experience with Hideshi Hino
00:34:22 - dakazu finally got a hold of the Mother/Earthbound tribute comic Pollyanna
00:40:17 - News: Hobonichi Techo released manga tie-in covers for their daily and weekly planners
00:48:46 - One Piece on hiatus due to Eiichiro Oda’s sudden illness
00:53:01 - Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Manga in Motion on Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, we’ll be reviewing the anime adaptation of Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano’s dark fantasy novels directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
00:57:05 - Main Segment One Shot: Utsubora: The Story of a Novalist, Transition Song: “Hana -a last flower-” by ASA-CHANG&Junrei from The Flowers of Evil, We review Asumiko Nakamura’s psychological thriller about a veteran novelist plagiarizing a young woman
02:01:17 - Shout outs to Dawn, Anime Mike, Next Week’s Topic: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster

294 - Manga in Motion 43 - Paranoia Agent

Manga Machinations

05/10/20 • 130 min

On this episode dakazu finds the perfect manga for Manga Machinations with Olympia Kyklos and learns that Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 isn’t completely terrible. Then we cancel Carl Jung and the collective unconsciousness as we breakdown Satoshi Kon’s Paranoia Agent!!!

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Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro Song: “Dream Island Obsessional Park” by Susumu Hirasawa from Paranoia Agent, Opening, Introductions
00:01:17 - Listener Emails: Manga suggestions and digital manga readers
00:14:04 - Announcing super moves in anime and manga
00:21:59 - Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: Dragon Ball Z OST “Prologue”, Mari Yamazaki’s Olympia Kyklos features ancient Greeks who get inspired by Osamu Tezuka and professional wrestling
00:28:35 - dakazu thought Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 took advantage of it’s CG animation for some unique effects
00:35:36 - Morgana could relate to the narrative of Lucy Knisley’s Stepping Stones
00:36:38 - News: Inuyasha anime sequel Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon announcement
00:43:56 - Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Retrospective on Yu Yu Hakusho, a comprehensive look at Yoshihiro Togashi’s popular manga about a teenage delinquent turned spirit detective(covers volumes 7-10)
00:44:32 - Main Segment Manga in Motion: Paranoia Agent, Transition Song: “White Hill - Maromi's Theme” by Susumu Hirasawa from Paranoia Agent, we examine Satoshi Kon’s animated TV series
02:09:09 - Next Week’s Topic: Yu Yu Hakusho, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster

291 - One Shot 27 - Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen

Manga Machinations

04/19/20 • 90 min

Our wonderful co-host Morgana Santilli is back from her maternity leave! She’s been busy being a new mom while reading lots of manga like SPY x Family, Happy Mania, Blue Flag, Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition, and How Do We Relationship?! To celebrate Morgana’s return we review her top manga from 2019, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen by Moyoco Anno!!!

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Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

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Join our Discord server and come talk to us! http://discord.me/mangamac

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro Song: “Massara” by KANA-BOON from Sarazanmai, Opening, Introductions, Morgana’s life as a mom
00:05:04 - Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: Dragon Ball Z OST “Prologue”, Morgana finally got to check out how great SPY x FAMILY is
00:08:57 - Morgana revisits another Moyoco Anno series called Happy Mania
00:12:39 - Morgana enjoyed Blue Flag which made it hard to review
00:23:21 - We discuss the need to continue reading a series even after it stops being interesting
00:26:44 - Morgana loved the manga industry jokes of Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition while dakazu enjoyed the anime adaptation
00:31:40 - Morgana found a college yuri comedy that Seamus can enjoy called How Do We Relationship?
00:35:03 - News: Prolific voice actor Keiji Fujiawa passes away at age 55 from cancer
00:38:03 - MangaRock website is back up without any scanlations but they can still be accessed from the app
00:43:33 - Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Retrospective on Yu Yu Hakusho, a comprehensive look at Yoshihiro Togashi’s popular manga about a teenage delinquent turned spirit detective(covers volumes 1-3)
00:47:17 - Main Segment One Shot: Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, Transition Song: “Fiction” by sumiko from Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, we review Moyoco Anno’s tale about French sex workers and their clients at the beginning of the 20th century
01:29:18 - Next Week’s Topic: Yu Yu Hakusho, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster

286 - New Chapter Check-in 3 - We Never Learn

Manga Machinations

03/16/20 • 66 min

Seamus is out this week so Darfox and dakazu dive into the current arcs of popular series! Chainsaw Man continues to entertain them and they have a lot to say about the unorthodox ending of We Never Learn!!!

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Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

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Join our Discord server and come talk to us! http://discord.me/mangamac

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro Song: “Can Now, Can Now” by Study from We Never Learn, Opening, Introductions, Social Media
00:01:18 - News: Seven Seas Entertainment books were taken off the Kobo store for adult content
00:03:34 - Kaiten Books is a new manga publisher
00:06:32 - Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Triple Dip where we read three different Doraemon’s Long Tales by Fujio F Fujiko, including: Noby in Devilfish Castle, Noby vs. the Mecha Army, and Noby and the Dino Knights
00:11:46 - Main Segment New Chapter Check-in, Transition Song: “Seishun Seminar” by Study from We Never Learn, We will be doing a *FULL SPOILER* discussion on the newest story arcs of popular manga
00:12:36 - We Never Learn by Taishi Tsutsui
00:32:37 - Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto
00:44:22 - dakazu give an update on Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, ZIPMAN!!, Mitama Security: Spirit Busters, and Mission: Yozakura Family
00:45:54 - Dear Sa-chan by Iori Asaga
00:50:33 - Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
00:59:07 - We discuss the thin line between admiring historical generals for their tactics and their ideals
01:04:49 - Next Week’s Topic: Doraemon’s Long Tales VOL4/VOL7/VOL8, Social Media Rundown, Transition Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster

279 - Triple Dip 39 - Classmates: Dou kyu sei, I Hear the Sunspot, 10 Dance

Manga Machinations

01/27/20 • 148 min

On this episode we’re doing a special Boys’ Love edition Triple Dip! Morgana leads the charge as we dive into sweet romances and problematic troupes in the first volumes of Classmates: Dou kyu sei, I Hear the Sunspot, and 10 Dance!!!

Remember to send us emails! [email protected]

Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com

Check out our tumblr! http://mangamachinations.tumblr.com

Join our Discord server and come talk to us! http://discord.me/mangamac

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro Song: “Massara” by KANA-BOON from Sarazanmai, Opening, Introductions
00:02:17 - Whatchu Been Reading: Transition Song: Dragon Ball Z OST “Prologue”, Seamus has finally caught up to the most recent volume of Ooku: The Inner Chambers
00:11:50 - Seamus can’t continue with Knights of Sidonia after revisiting BLAME!
00:12:40 - After last week’s episode dakazu decided to finally finish reading Biomega
00:16:38 - Playing Anime Music Quiz lets Darfox and dakazu be nostalgic for old anime shows
00:22:40 - Morgana has been playing Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution on her Switch
00:25:05 - Our Dining Table is a sweet BL story about a lonely salary man who befriends two brothers over meals
00:27:33 - Morgana loves Cross because it’s a Catholic supernatural garbage shoujo romance from the 90′s
00:31:54 - dakazu can’t really talk about Hi Score Girl DASH because it would spoil Hi Score Girl
00:34:11 - News: Square Enix Manga & Books puts out lengthy previews of the upcoming releases of A Man and His Cat and Hi Score Girl
00:36:41 - My Anime List adds The Island of Giant Insects to it’s free manga service
00:39:55 - Kojima Productions is interested in developing anime, manga, and smaller games along with their big blockbuster game projects
00:44:57 - E-book Japan shares their best-selling shonen manga of the 21st century along with best manga of 2019 lists
00:47:48 - Comics Beat posts the 500 top-selling graphic novels and comics of 2019
00:57:17 - Comics Beat had ended it’s deal with Lion Forge and will be independent again
00:58:47 - Vertical is being consolidated under Kodansha USA
01:02:41 - Live-action film adaptation of The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese will be premiering June 5th in Japan
01:03:58 - Rumors circulate that BEASTARS will be ending soon
01:08:19 - Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Prose Picks, we will read and review the light novel Last and First Idol by Gengen Kusano
01:10:40 - Main Segment Triple Dip: Classmates: Dou kyu sei/I Hear the Sunspot/10 Dance, Transition Song: “Fiction” by sumiko from Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, we read the beginning of each BL manga for discussion and to see if we’d continue reading it before picking our favorite of the three
01:11:49 - We each share our various experiences with BL content
01:20:13 - Classmates: Dou kyu sei by Asumiko Nakamura
01:39:37 - I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino
01:59:21 - 10 Dance by Inouesatoh
02:15:55 - *SPOILERS* for 10 Dance
02:21:43 - We pick our favorite manga out of the 3 BL manga
02:27:13 - Next Week’s Topic: Land and First Idol, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “wish men” by sunbrain from Beet the Vandel Buster

532 - Darfox Dabbles 10 - MANGA Plus 7 and K-Manga 1

Manga Machinations

12/30/24 • 62 min

dakazu and Darfox are ready to end 2024 with one more Darfox Dabbles! They'll be looking at MAD, Bug Ego, Tank Chair, Empyreal Cabinet, and more!!!

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Timestamps: