The generational gap is fierce in the workplace, with older managers typically disparaging the work ethic of younger employees. It’s fairly common to hear “millennials are ruining X” in Western countries. In Japan, the phrase “Imadoki no wakai mono wa” (Young people these days…) is used to begin a rant about millennial Japanese aren’t exactly okay.

It’s a phrase that can be used by managers or older co-workers to belittle the work ethic or enthusiasm of younger workers, which led to a viral Twitter manga. Mangaka Kohei Yoshitani (Akita Komachi ni Hitomebore) put a twist on the disparaging phrase:

今どきの若いモンは① pic.twitter.com/YUDuRUZVbX

— 吉谷光平 (@kakikurage) December 13, 2017

Mugita: “Geez, I’m exhausted. All of this overtime is killing me. I just want to go home already…”

Mugita: “But the boss is still here, so I don’t want to look bad going home before him…”

Mugita: “Ugh…I want to quit.”

Voice: “Hey, Mugita, can you hear me?”

Man: “Seriously, young people these days…”

Mugita: “Section Chief Ishizawa!”

Ishizawa: “You have to be kidding me…”

Mugita, thinking: “Here it comes!!! Another middle-aged guy whining about ‘young people these days.’ Just another jerk on his high-horse shoving a sermon down my throat. Give me a break!!!”

Mugita: “…What?”

Ishizawa: “Young people these days…you work too hard.”

Ishizawa: “When I was your age, there wasn’t a word for karoshi. I’ll take care of the rest of this, so go ahead and go home.”

Mugita: “S-Section Chief!!!!”

Ishizawa: “It was hard for you to get up and leave while I was still working, wasn’t it? Sorry, I should have noticed earlier.”

Mugita: “S-Section Chief!!!!!”

The gesture of a manager relieving a subordinate of their extra work struck a chord with Twitter users, as it has been shared over 100,000 times!

Get ready to explore more of the world of KonoSuba, because Kadokawa announced three new spin-off manga series! Two of the series will debut on January 27 in Comic Alive and one will run in Shonen Ace beginning on January 27.

One of the spin-offs is a sequel to Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo! (Fiery Explosions on This Wonderful World!), which centers around Megumin before she met Kazuma. The sequel series is called Zoku Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!, which is adapting the 2016 spin-off light novel of the same name.

Suzume Somemiya (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Nichikou wo!) will be adapting Kono Kamen no Akuma ni Soudan wo! (Discussions With the Demon of This Mask). The story centers around Vanir, who is forced to become a personal consult after Wiz wastes his money on high-quality Manatite crystals.

Finally, Tamako Buta will draw an adaptation of Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Extra: Ano Orokamono ni mo Kyakkou o! (Spotlight on That Fool Also!). The “slightly ecchi” centers around Dust, who is given an ominous message from Vanir.

Are you excited about this slate of KonoSuba manga spin-offs?

One of the trendiest genres is isekai-harem stories! These series tend to focus on an ordinary otaku being transported to a fantasy world to serve as a prophesied savior. As a bonus, the hero goes on adventures with members of the opposite sex to save the world and visit hot springs!

It’s pure escapism, but mangaka Marumikan (Seitokai no Otanoshimi) couldn’t help but poking fun at the genre’s setup by using some real-world logic. Spoiler, it’s not as fun if you take things to its logical conclusion:

ハーレム展開に厳しい勇者が旅に出てみた pic.twitter.com/6nkUZQ4dai

— 丸美甘 (@maru3kan) December 27, 2017

Narrator: “One day, Takeru, an ordinary high school boy, is transported to another world. His quest to defeat the Demon King starts! And everyone in his party is a girl!

“[A monster appeared! It used Tentacle Attack!]”

Fighter: “Kyaa! Hero, you saw my panties just now, didn’t you!?”

Hero: “Put on some damned pants!!!”

Hero: “If you are a melee character and you know you’re going to be moving around a lot, why in God’s name are wearing a skirt!? If nothing else, aren’t you cold!? Girls who freeze their legs while thinking, ‘You have to bear with these things to be fashionable,’ are committing a major logical fallacy!!”

Fighter: “I’m sorry…”

Hero: “And you’re no better, Monster! What’s the point of attacking by sliding a tentacle across someone’s body!? Is that some sort of psychological warfare tactic!? We’re enemies coming to kill your boss, try taking this a little seriously!!”

Monster: “I’m sorry…”

Hero: “I’m really sorry I saw your panties! If it bothers you, Fighter, we can have a healer use a potion or something to erase my memory of it.”

Mage: “What a gentleman…I’ve never met such a wonderful person before…”

Mage: “Be my husband…”

Cleric: “No fair, Mage! I’ve got my eye on Hero too…”

Hero: “That’s all it takes for you to fall for a guy!!!”

Hero: “What the hell are you thinking, asking a guy you just met to get married!? Do you understand how cute you both are? Have some self-respect!!”

Hero: “If you already think I’m the best guy you’ve ever met, that means you’ve met only lowlife jerks until now! Try meeting more people and meeting each other’s families before you go doing that sort of thing!!”

Monster: “Umm…sorry to butt in…

[Monster is looking to join the party!]

Hero: “Always good to have more party members!”

Fighter, Cleric, and Mage: “That monster’s a girl!!”

Still better than daily life, right?

It’s right out of an episode of Gintama – Sakata Gintoki meets the vicious Shachi, a criminal convicted of murder and trafficking. In Episode 110, Shachi is also an unlikely mangaka who sent a submission to Shounen Jump while in jail, which would get serialized.

While not as radical as Gintama, Japan’s Mine Rehabilitation Program Center in the Yamaguchi Prefecture allows prisoners to draw manga while they are serving their sentences. The program began in 2014 with the help of mangaka Ryo Sonoba.

Sonoba accompanied an acquaintance to the private prison one summer, which houses inmates sentenced to labor. In an interview with The Asashi Shimbun, Sonoba recalled being impressed by the artistic skills of some of the inmates. He volunteered to serve as an instructor for an art program, which gives inmates a chance to work on a computer and stylus tablets.

In 2015, Sonoba was commissioned to work on a manga series which led to a radical proposition – have the inmates work as his assistants. After receiving permission, Sonoba had the inmates draw buildings, cars, cityscapes, and other background art for this project. Sonoba’s plan was deemed a success and has led to other mangaka turning towards the inmates for background art.

In April 2017, Sonoba opened a website selling prints of their background work. Prices are between 300 yen ($2.60) to 600 yen ($5.32). Sonoba recalls that the inmates smile when they see their art in manga, even if they don’t get to meet the mangaka.

The art sold all seems to be highly detailed with excellent perspective work. There’s no listing of manga the inmates’ background art is featured within. But it’s easy to see how series like Tenkyuu Shinpan or other manga with large cityscapes could benefit from this program.

The goal of the inmate manga program is not just to foster an inmate’s art skills, but to give them an experience that can be used after their sentences have been served. Sonoba is unaware of the inmates’ names, charges, or ages. Sometimes, an inmate may suddenly disappear because their sentence is up or they got into trouble.

Still, Sonoba claims he forms a connection with them through his mentoring and hopes that the inmates can feel a sense of accomplishment once they re-enter society.

Anime and manga fans can be found in the most unexpected places. From Britney Spear’s sons to popular rappers like Tyga, you could claim a metaphysical bond with them! Now, Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, has been outed as an otaku.

Japanese TV show Yabai Hanashi The World sent personality Daiki Kameda to Bern, Switzerland to do a report on Jong-un. The North Korean leader studied in Bern for four years under a false name when he was 12…and it seems like he was a typical otaku.

Researcher Gabriel Myer told Kameda that Jong-un would get poor grades because he would spend most of his time reading manga. Slam Dunk and Dragon Ball were among his favorites, while his sister adored Sailor Moon.

Like his father, Kim Jong-il, Jong-un also loved the NBA – America’s professional basketball league. It’s been cited that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were his favorite players. While leading North Korea, Jong-un has had a highly publicized friendship with basketball player Dennis Rodman, who is Jordan’s former teammate.

The Jong family has a bizarre relationship with foreign entertainment, which North Korean citizens are banned from consuming. Now, we are wondering if Jong-un follows seasonal anime and online reviews when not having a Twitter feud with President Trump.

At least he gave us an anime parody series:

Kurage Bunch announced that Tsukumizu’s Girls’ Last Tour (Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryoko) manga will end on January 12.

The slice of life, post-apocalyptic series follows Chito and Yuuri, two girls who navigate the ruins of humanity in a modified Kettenkrad motorbike. They spend their hopeless days searching for food and salvageable machine parts, but the experiences they share give meaning to their lives.

Tsukumizu launched the seinen series on February 21, 2014 and will end it on its 42nd chapter. The manga received a 12-episode adaptation from White Fox that aired during the fall 2017 season, which has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks. Yen Press has also licensed the manga.

Are you ready for the end?

We all have certain manga series that we would love to see adapted that’ll allow us to relive our favorite moments.

This feeling prompted Goo Ranking to ask the Japanese community which newer manga series they would love to see turned into anime.

Real Account – 71 votes

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai – 72 votes

Hinomaru Zumou – 78 votes

Fire Force – 84 votes

We Never Learn (Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai) – 98 votes

Domestic Girlfriend (Domestic na Kanojo) – 113 votes

Ahiru no Sora – 129 votes

Komi-san wa, Komyushou desu. – 149 votes

Kimetsu no Yaiba – 150 votes

The Promised Neverland (Yakusoku no Neverland) – 292 votes

What manga do you hope receives an anime adaptation soon?

You’ve seen the memes and read fan-translated frames on Tumblr, but Pop Team Epic is largely underground outside of Japan.

Even then, the manga has a divisive reception due its absurd humor, copy-and-paste art style, nonsequiturs, and lack of a plot. But it still managed to become a phenomenon in Japan and is loved as a kuso (shit) series.

Here is why Pop Team Epic is so loved!

Doesn’t Take Itself Seriously

Pop Team Epic, creator Bukubu Okawa, and the fans revel in a lack of seriousness – which can be viewed as counter-movement to modern “critical” culture.

Even without that lens, Okawa doesn’t mind admitting that his art skills are lacking or that jokes go absolutely nowhere. He’s shitposting in manga form and you’re welcome to join the ride.

Bukubu Okawa Loves Teasing Fans

In fact, Bukubu might have as much appeal himself as his manga. He constantly has fun with fans (like handing out rubble as prizes at Comiket) or responding to fans comments in the manga.

One of Bukubu’s greatest jokes, however, was Hoshiro Girldrop. After creating a conclusion to Pop Team Epic, he created an idol rom-com, complete with an official website and a new art style. It was an elaborate ruse to prove that he actually has art skills and map out a story if he cared enough.

Filled With Pop Culture References

Gintama is viewed as the king of references, but Pop Team Epic is a close second place. The 4-panel format allows Bukubu to place references without worrying about flow or making sense, just whatever seems funny at the time.

M-E-T-A

Where else does a small-time mangaka trash their own publisher?

The Memes

Bukubu’s art style and humor have led to many social media memes – in fact, more people probably know Pop Team Epic through memes than the actual manga. The crazy thing is that the series’ humor isn’t forced, but happens organically.

Of course, not everyone is a fan of absurd humor or the manga’s art style. For those people, Bukubu has a simple message:

Asperger’s Syndrome can affect a person’s social and communication skills, which can make daily life difficult. In an effort to raise awareness, Japanese cosplayer Akagi Kuro wrote a short manga based on her life experiences.

オリジナル漫画を描きました
私の子供の頃の話です pic.twitter.com/dYNLLIs1z0

— 赤木クロ (@akagikuro) January 7, 2018

The manga features Aspe-chan, a young girl with Asperger’s. Her daily difficulties are highlighted in seemingly “normal” situations.

Aspe-chan: “Hello, I’m Aspe-chan. I’m a girl with Asperger’s.”

Akagi Kuro: “I have Asperger’s myself, and because of that, had a lot of difficulties as a child.

• Not understanding detailed nuances.
• Sensitive to certain feelings.
• Not being able to deal well with unexpected events…and more.

“For those unfamiliar with Asperger’s, Aspe-chan will guide you through the daily life of what it’s like.”

Narrator: “Aspe-chan doesn’t understand detailed nuances. Ambiguous instructions confuse her.”

Narrator: “Particularly hard-to-understand words are “few,” “those,” “over there,” “firmly,” “nicely,” “whatever.”

Boss: “Take out a few of those.”

Aspe-chan: “I have no idea what this means!”

Aspe-chan: ” What do mean by ‘those?’ And how many is ‘a few?'”

Boss: “What?! Normally people just understand! ‘Those’ are those things! ‘A few’ is a few! Like three or so.”

Akagi Kuro: “If they don’t say it specifically like that, then I don’t know to do. Sometimes that means I get yelled at…”

Akagi Kuro: ” When you ask someone with Asperger’s to do something, it is hard for us to understand ambiguous words. But if you ask using specifics, we can do it no problem! Aspe-chan loves getting things done exactly as asked.”

Bad words: “a few,” “those,” “quickly.”

Good words: “three,” “those things in a specific location,” “finish by a certain time.”

Akagi Kuro: “She was being scolded by the teacher (I don’t remember why).

Teacher: “If you’re not going to try harder, then go home!”

Aspe-chan, thinking: “Oh, I can go home?”

Aspe-chan: “Okay, I’m going home. Bye!”

Teacher: “WHAT?!”

Teacher: “You’re not supposed to go home!”

Aspe-chan: “…but you said I could. (And I was scolded even more afterword.)

Narrator: “People with Asperger’s often take things literally.”

Akagi Kuro: “Ever since I was little, people would always say things to me like: ‘can’t you do it normally?’ or ‘why are you so strange?’ or ‘weirdo’ or ‘you act funny.'”

Akagi Kuro: “My ‘normal’ was not ‘normal.’ I couldn’t do ‘normal’ things everyone else did. I wondered if I was a bad kid. I thought day after day about what ‘normal’ was.”

Akagi Kuro: “But something ‘normal’ is just something common that anyone can do.

• Normal things: walking normally, not spilling food, not falling in weird places.
• Amazing things: things that people can’t just imitate.

“so rather than worry about what I couldn’t do, I started thinking positive about all of the things that Asperger’s let me do that others couldn’t.”

Akagi Kuro: “Some good personality traits of having Asperger’s are: intense focus, excellent memory, and more.”

• We can focus on completing a project.
• We can become super knowledgeable on a certain subject.

“Rather than just being able to do ‘normal things,’ I think it’s much more amazing to make use of those skills and do something no one else can do.”

While Akagi Kuro’s manga is going viral, she also has created great cosplay.

FGO ブレイブエリちゃん
photo Aiden
studio タカスタ#FGO pic.twitter.com/mK8DkaHYBH

— 赤木クロ (@akagikuro) January 9, 2018

魔法少女まどか☆マギカ
暁美ほむら
photo Aiden
studio タカスタ pic.twitter.com/gpsXwXpLqB

— 赤木クロ (@akagikuro) January 9, 2018

東方タッグの霊夢 pic.twitter.com/kk855IqTiI

— 赤木クロ (@akagikuro) January 9, 2018

You can see more of Kuro’s work on Twitter.

Fans who are allergic to prose or who don’t enjoy Shaft’s visual style can enjoy Bakemonogatari in an upcoming manga adaptation.

【解禁】

『化物語』　漫　画　化　決　定

3月14日(水)発売「週刊少年マガジン」2018年15号ヨリ pic.twitter.com/umulW8I5Mr

— 西尾維新公式情報 (@NISIOISIN_info) January 10, 2018

Series creator NisiOisen revealed that the Bakemonogatari manga will launch in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine on March 14. The manga’s artist has not been revealed.

Bakemonogatari is the first book in NisiOisen’s long-running urban fantasy series. The book stars Koyomi Araragi, a loner with a supernatural secret. One day, he finds classmate Hitagi Senjougahara falling into his arms and learns that she is weightless. Hitagi reluctantly tells Koyomi her problem, who revolves to solve it.

Bakemonogatari was first published in 2006 and was adapted into an anime by Shaft in 2009.

Mangaka Shunsuke Kakuishi (Yawara no Michelangelo) is kickstarted a conversation about the poor work conditions manga assistants face.

He wrote a viral blog about his time working as an assistant under Norifusa Mita on Investor Z for 11 years and seven months. During this time, he and other assistants did not receive overtime pay and they would not always receive their scheduled three-days off.

The blog was published as a response to Mita’s interview with Yahoo! News Japan. Mita spoke about the positive work environment he created for his assistants, such as giving them three days off and prohibiting overtime. Mita also said he outsources to a design company, which further helps lighten the assistant team’s workload.

However, Kakuishi took exception to Mita’s claim about prohibiting overtime. According to Kakuishi’s timecards, he worked overtime hours every single week. Despite working eight-hour work days, the assistant team would typically clock out between 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm. During crunches, their hours would bleed into the early Friday hours – which were scheduled off days.

Despite criticizing the unpaid overtime, Kakuishi did acknowledge that Mita provided a more positive workplace compared to other mangaka. Most assistants aren’t fortunate enough to have eight-hour work days or three days off a week.

Kakuishi wrote, “Although it’s much better than industry standards, it can’t be said that it was completely white. As for if it was a workplace that accurately conformed to the Labor Standards Act, I can’t really say it did.”

In Japan, “white companies” are used to label workplaces that value their employees, ensure their welfare, and properly pay them. In the past, the manga and anime industry has been labeled “black” due to their poor work conditions.

Kakuishi later wrote that while receiving his unpaid overtime dues would be nice, it’s more important to encourage other assistants to speak out against malpractice. He hopes other assistants will speak out without fear of punishment and the industry will take positive steps forward.

However, Kakuishi did receive some blowback. Mangaka Kyosuke Usuta (Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san) claimed that Kakuishi misunderstood the industry. Usuta claimed that the “handful of professional assistants” receive high enough salaries to raise families with. He ended his tweet saying that assistants can freely choose their work and leave the industry if they are unsatisfied.

Kakuishi clapped-back, saying, “Usuta-senpai, I think the ones who misunderstand are the manga creators.” He alluded that Usuta’s tweet proves that mangaka exploits their assistants. Usuta would later delete his previous tweet criticizing Kakuishi’s blog.

Batoto, one of the most popular manga scanlation aggregator sites, is shutting down.

RawR, the site’s owner and administrator, told readers he “just don’t have the will” to run Batoto anymore. The servers will expire on January 18, but readers may possibly still access some content. However, the site will lose functionality on January 25.

Batoto first cropped up in 2011 and has since become one of the biggest aggregate sites for scanlated manga. Scanlation groups favored Batoto over similar sites and would push readers to them. However, it was also a heavy target of scrapers – who would ironically “scrape and steal” the pirated content to host on other scanlation sites. They would also face numerous copyright issues as newer manga became licensed by publishers.

 Batoto’s other staff members are backing up the 6-terabytes worth “images and comic database,” but will not work on a newer version of Batoto without RawR.

Manga can be an expensive hobby, especially if you love long-running series. Many people can’t afford to keep up so they drop series or turn towards scanlation sites. But with the mega-popular scanlation site Bato.to shutting down on January 18th, people are being pushed more than ever towards paying for their manga fix.

Legally supporting manga you love doesn’t have to destroy your wallet. With online manga subscription services and deals at Humble Bundle, you can start building your own personal manga library without having to skip lunch.

Humble Bundle doesn’t always run manga deals, but they currently have a deal on the entire Attack on Titan franchise. Fans can spend as little as a dollar to get the basic volumes, but you have a chance to get every single piece of Attack on Titan content for $18 – which normally runs for $517.

You could potentially walk away with digital copies of 22 volumes of Attack on Titan, 2 volumes of Lost Girls, 2 volumes of No Regrets, 11 volumes of Before the Fall, 4 volumes of Junior High, 2 volumes of Spoof on Titan, an official guidebook, and an artbook.

With Humble Bundle, you can choose to send the money to Kodansha Comics (which supports the creator Hajime Isayama) or donate to charity. The digital manga is also DRM-free (no internet connection required to read) and comes in a variety of formats for your devices.

If you aren’t familiar with the global phenomenon, Attack on Titan is a dark-fantasy series detailing humanity’s survival against the fearsome Titans. The flesh-eating beasts have forced the last of humanity to build a walled nation, which has experienced 100 years of peace. Eren Jaeger finds his life destroyed after the Collusus Titan attacks, causing mass death. After the events, he vows to kill all of the Titans, but he slowly learns of a greater conspiracy within the walls.

Wit Studio has produced two seasons, with the third season coming out later this year.

You can click here to visit the Humble Bundle page, which will be open until January 31.

Naoshi Komi created the hit manga Nisekoi and it propelled him towards becoming a household name after it sold over 4 million copies and Shaft’s anime adaptation became a fan favorite.

Komi may be known for creating Nisekoi but he has long been the king of emotional one-shot manga since his 2007 debut.

Tokidoki (2016)

Double Arts (2008)

Island (2007)

Komi’s latest one-shot e No Genten: Starting Point is a throwback to Komi’s earlier works, which focused on two different personalities working towards a similar goal and exploring self-doubt.

e No Genten: Starting Point explores e-sports, which is gaining more popularity in Japan. Komi injects his signature art style and character foils into a trend that younger audiences are familiar with.

e No Genten: Starting Point follows Takumi Tomouchi, a high school boy who loves gaming. While dedicating his time towards mastering a fighting game, he crosses paths with Satsuki Minahara. While Satsuki is driven in life, Takumi is aimless – but they both love competitive gaming.

Oh, and you may experience some feels in this story. Komi loves playing with your emotions and it’s a running theme in all his work.

Everyone is familiar with Masashi Kishimoto and his Naruto manga series, but how well do you know his twin brother?

That’s right, one of the industry’s most popular mangaka has a younger twin brother who also is a mangaka. Seishi Kishimoto hasn’t gained a large international following, but he’s fairly successful in Japan with a few published manga.

666 Satan (O Parts-Hunter)

Blazer Drive

Kurenai no Ookami to Ashikase no Hitsuji

Sukedachi 09

They have all had respectable runs, but Seishi’s shounen series have always been compared to Masashi’s Naruto. Both creators have a similar art style and feature story beats that center around a boy overcoming great obstacles.

However, Seishi is determined to carve out his own niche with Mad Chimera World. For starters, it’s an uncensored seinen.

Mad Chimera World takes place in a world ran by female chimera that eat their male counterparts. The story follows two young protagonists who are trying to survive the constant onslaught of chimera attacks.

Unlike Seishi’s previous works, Mad Chimera World features a lot of body-horror.

Gore.

And plenty of weird stuff.

Mad Chimera World is a trip and Seishi is stepping out of his comfort zone. The series is currently being published in the seinen magazine Morning Two.

Who doesn’t love a good wager? Characters gamble with money or their lives in intense situations, which can include playing mahjong against gangsters or breaking an opponent’s mind!

While gambling is generally banned in Japan, it doesn’t stop fans from falling in love with high-stakes stories. Goo Ranking asked the Japanese community to rank the best, and while most are obscure works focusing on mahjong, there are a few internationally loved stories!

ACMA:GAME – 30 votes

Mangaka: Meeb (writer) / Kouji Megumi

Status: Finished (198 chapters)

Quick Pitch: Oda Teruasa is gifted with smarts, looks, and wealth, making him the perfect scion of the powerful Oda Group. However, his life is tossed into disarray after getting caught up in a nightmarish game with the son of the Belmont mafia family.

Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryu – 34 votes

Mangaka: Junichi Nojo

Status: Finished (72 chapters)

Studio: Gainax / Magic Bus

Episodes: 3

Quick Pitch: Ryu can be found playing mahjong against gangsters and other unsavory people. He is a peerless talent and seeks the thrill of winning by “ron” against underground opponents.

One Outs – 36 votes

Mangaka: Shinobu Kaitani

Status: Finished (175 chapters)

Studio: Madhouse

Episodes: 25

Quick Pitch: Toua Tokuchi is a master at gambling and mind games with an unbeatable reputation in “One Outs,” which is a simplified version of baseball. Hiromichi Kojima recruits Toua to pitch for the Saikyou Saitama Lycaons, the weakest team in the country. To make things interesting, Toua proposes an unusual contract: every out gains him 5 million yen, but every run allowed loses him 50 million yen.

Usogui – 54 votes

Mangaka: Toshio Sako

Status: Finished (541 chapters)

Studio: Not revealed

Episodes: 1

Quick Pitch: Baku “Usogui” Madarame is a brilliant gambler who uses his own life as a wager. These deadly gamblers are monitored by the Kagerou organization, which serves as a neutral party. However, Usogui’s goal is to outmaneuver Kagerou for total control.

Gin to Kin – 71 votes

Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto

Status: Finished (108 chapters)

Quick Pitch: Morita has trouble finding success, and he takes his frustrations out in gambling. One day, he meets Ginji, who is a fixer with connections to the underground. This new world is filled high-stakes gambling and people corrupted by greed.

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya – 75 votes

Mangaka: Fuumei Sai (writer) / Yasushi Hoshino (artist)

Status: Finished (339 chapters)

Studio: Toei Animation

Episodes: 20

Quick Pitch: The people of Shinjuku find themselves struggling to survive after WWII came to an end. Many people lack the money to buy necessities, so they turn towards gambling for survival. Tetsuya doesn’t mind the situation since he’s been easily defeating opponents…until Boushu-san arrives. After a thorough defeat, Tetsuya realizes he still has much to learn about mahjong.

Liar Game – 172 votes

Mangaka: Shinobu Kaitani

Status: Finished (203 votes)

Quick Pitch: Nao Kanzaki is an honest college girl who receives a mysterious package containing 100 million yen and a note stating she is a contestant in the Lair Game Tournament. The game revolves around obtaining another contestant’s money, with the loser bearing a debt equal to their loss. When Nao’s money is stolen, she asks a con man named Shinichi Akiyama to help her retrieve it. After defeating their first opponent, the duo vows to advance through the tournament to free their opponents from their debt and to defeat the Liar Game organization.

Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai – 195 votes

Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto

Status: Ongoing

Studio: Madhouse

Episodes: 26

Quick Pitch: As a young boy, Akagi interrupts a mahjong game while fleeing from the police. One of the patrons is destined for a victory, so he turns his game over to Akagi and quickly explains the game’s rules. It’s quickly discovered that Akagi is a natural-born gambler and makes it his life’s work to mentally break hardened gamblers.

Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 445 votes

Mangaka: Homura Kawamoto (writer) / Toru Naomura (artist)

Status: Ongoing

Studio: MAPPA

Episodes: 12

Quick Pitch: Hyakkaou Private Academy is an institution that only admits the wealthiest students. A student is not judged by their academic achievements or athletic ability, but by their skill at high-stakes gambling. The student council rules with an iron fist, but transfer student Yumeko Jabami is going to show them what real gambling is.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor – 551 votes

Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto

Status: Ongoing

Studio: Madhouse

Episodes: 52

Quick Pitch: Kaiji is a good-for-nothing loiterer who wastes his life drinking and stealing hubcaps. Just when he thinks life couldn’t get worse, he is tricked into repaying a friend’s debt to the yakuza. Faced with choosing to work at a labor camp for 10 years or boarding an illegal gambling cruise, Kaiji decides to test his hand at gambling.

What are your favorite gambling series?

An end of an era quickly approaches as Hideaki Sorachi‘s Gintama enters its climax chapter in Shonen Jump Issue 10. Everything in the long-running ‘Silver Soul Arc‘ has been building to this moment.

Gintama ends in Shonen Jump Issue 10. pic.twitter.com/jeCEiAmym5

— YonkouProductions (@YonkouProd) January 24, 2018

Shonen Jump issue 9 will be released on January 29th and issue 10 on February 5th. New issues are usually released every Monday.

In the manga industry, a story’s climax can refer to its final chapter or an arc’s “high point.” Shueisha hasn’t stated if this will be Gintama‘s final chapter or a lead into epilogue chapters.

Sorachi began working on the popular samurai/science fiction/parody hybrid series in 2003. The story follows Sakata Gintoki, who was once a feared samurai in the Joi War, but an alien invasion that led to a ban on swords has forced him to become an errand boy. Together with Kagura and Shinpachi, the trio runs various errands (and avoid copyright infringement) to pay their rent.

Gintama‘s finale also marks an end to Weekly Shounen Jump‘s 2000 era, which was also home to Bleach and Death Note.

Log Horizon is getting a brand new book for the first time since 2015! Author Mamare Touno and illustrator Kazuhiro Hara are reuniting to work on Log Horizon volume 11, which will be published by Kadokawa’s Enterbrain imprint on March 20, 2018.

Kadokawa published volume 10 in September 2015, but put future physical releases on hold after Touno was charged with tax evasion in April 2015. Touno was found guilty in 2016 and received a 10-month prison sentence. However, his sentence is suspended for three years and he can avoid prison time if he maintains good behavior up through 2019.

Despite his high profile legal issue, Touno has published Log Horizon volumes 11 through 13 in their original web format. Touno is currently working on volume 14 and he has published that volume’s first chapter last August. Kadokawa has decided to give the volumes a physical release, which currently needs illustrations from Hara.

The popular Log Horizon series follows a group of Japanese gamers that are trapped in the fantasy online game Elder Tale after the release of a new expansion pack. Shiroe teams up with Naotsugu and Akatsuki to face their new world, which is rife with political turmoil and other gamers trying to a society within Elder Tale.

A two-season anime adaptation aired on NHK E, which ironically is a government-funded TV channel. Satelight produced season one and Studio Deen produced season two.

A Japanese celebration event for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One movie had a surprise announcement – Yuusuke Murata (One Punch Man / Eyeshield 21) will be adapting Back to the Future into a manga!

The manga, which is titled BTTF, will be supervised by the movie’s screenwriter Bob Gale. BTTF will follow the same core story as the iconic movie, but original content will also be injected into the manga.

Murata has never been shy about his love for Back to the Future and he has shared fan art based on the franchise in the past. He stated that drawing Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly is an “extremely high hurdle,” but he promises to do his best.

The iconic Back to the Future was directed by Robert Zemeckis in 1985 and follows Marty McFly, a high schooler living in Hill Valley. When a time-traveling experiment conducted by his friend Emmett Brown is violently interrupted, McFly accidentally travels back to 1955. McFly is tasked with restoring the past and future after he messes with past events.

BTTF will be serialized on the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! website at a future date. Murata is still working on the manga, but he plans on having the first physical volume published on April 20, 2018.

A mangaka’s journey is filled with hard work, emotional turmoil, and loads of rejections! But all of that is worth it once a mangaka sees their work serialized and later published in tankobon, or collect volumes.

There has to be no greater feeling than seeing your manga series on store shelves and being bought fans. But, a series’ popularity doesn’t last forever and a work can quickly become demoted to a shelf warmer. So, what happens to excessive stock?

Rensuke Oshikiri is best known for the ongoing High Score Girl and they learned a harsh truth: unsold manga gets turned into toilet paper.

先日、講談社が管理する工場に行ってきた。ここには返品や不良品と化した単行本たちが容赦なく裁断される恐るべき場所である。けたたましい轟音と共に作家の魂とも言える単行本たちはバラバラにされ、ひとまとめにされ、再利用としてトイレットペーパーになる運命にある。中には己の単行本の存在も。 pic.twitter.com/HKg0rtZYPC

— 押切蓮介 (@rereibara) February 1, 2018

“The other day, I went to a factory managed by Kodansha. This is where returned and defective tankobon are mercilessly dealt with. With a shrill roar, the tankobon, which are a creator’s soul, are torn to shreds, compressed, and meet their destiny of being recycled as toilet paper. I even saw my own tankobon in this place.”

The rise of digital publishing limits the need to “pulp” unsold and defective tankobon into toilet paper, but the industry still relies on print sales. Stores are constantly making shelf space for hot sellers and stock stored in warehouses are seen as a profit drain.

At least the unsold tankobon are being recycled, even if being turned into toilet paper isn’t seen as a noble end.