All posts tagged: Viz Media

Black Clover Volume One – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

It was in the early months of 2015 when Black Clover was first introduced to Western audiences thanks to Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump “Jump Start” initiative that showcases three full chapters from a brand-new Manga as a way to gauge audience reaction and determine whether or not to continue featuring it within the pages of the weekly issue release. Yuki Tabata, who was more well known for his short-lived series Hungry Joker at the time, began developing Black Clover after his previous Manga was cancelled abruptly. At the time of Black Clover’s pilot chapter release, I was nowhere near as open-minded as I am today, writing it off as a distinct duplicate of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto in disguise as Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail. From what I am lead to believe; many people felt the same way as me at the time. The strange thing about this series is that it is still going strong today despite the heavy judgment from Shonen Jump readers early on in the piece. It isa case wherein which the loud …

Tokyo Ghoul Volume Five – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Countless times in the past I’ve had conversations with other individuals regarding the vast difference between us humans and animals. For the longest time I felt as though I never had an educated-enough answer, or an intelligent-enough justification for my statement, but over the years I have come to understand certain small things about this interesting experience we call life that has allowed me to formulate answers to certain once-difficult questions that plagued me in my years as a young adult. What is a defining factor that truly separates humans from animals? One answer I feel as though I can accurately describe is an animal’s ability to assess situations and other animals within a split second, allowing them the opportunity to make break-neck decisions that could essentially mean the continuation of their life. Man kind does indeed feature a similar trait that, in more contemporary times, has been labelled “judging a book by it’s cover”, but I tend to believe it goes much deeper than that. It descends to an evolutionary level, the likes of …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Ten – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Few characteristics make a Shonen Manga likeable. It is these same characteristics that also set the sub-genre apart from all others. For the most part, a Shonen story must feature a character cast of eccentric but relatable personalities, each one incomparable to the last. As a part of this “roster”, the protagonist will be left with the burden of having to carry the rest through the bulk of the series’ story. This is a Shonen staple, and a weight-baring facet that will never change. This isn’t always for the worst though, in fact, a story relying entirely on the metaphorical strength of it’s hero can often work out for the better, that is…if the Manga has a protagonist like Soma Yukihira. It’s the last quarterfinal match of the Fall Classic. Takumi Aldini, looking for another chance to challenge Soma, faces off against the smug-looking Subaru Mimasaka. What’s making him so confident? The truth—and the dish he prepares—sends the entire auditorium into an uproar! Let the shokugeki begin! – VIZ Media Food Wars! isn’t unlike it’s …

World Trigger Volume Nine – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Shonen Jump is a publication I feel as though I’ll follow until the very day I die. Despite the fact that Shueisha’s weekly issues are directed at young adults with a proclivity for action and friendship, I believe that the themes of Friendship, Effort, and Victory are three that can be appreciated by the young and old alike. Thanks to new Manga series’ like My Hero Academia, and Twin Star Exorcists – two contemporary Manga I feel as though stand above the rest – Shonen Jump is heading into a new era that, while nowhere near as ground-breaking as the Golden Age, will breath new life into the publication. One of the new Manga I feel as though stands with the likes of those I mentioned above is the one currently being reviewed; World Trigger. It is a series that started off it’s run in quite a weak position, with very few readers finding it as enjoyable as some of the others that begun alongside it, but regardless of that it has stuck to the …

Terra Formars Volume Ten – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Mars is a planet 225 million kilometers away from Earth, and that is at it’s closest. It’s a planet so far away that it would take between 150 and 300 full days to reach it’s surface. Matt Damon was recently marooned on the red planet, and the mission was so arduous that it took a Childish Gambino to get him home to us. The point I’m trying to make is that Mars is quite a long way from Earth, and yet not even those currently inhabiting it cant seem to escape from the child-like politics on Earth. Terra Formars’ latest arc is one that revolves around China’s heel turn as they attempt to seize control of the mission so as to return to Earth the sole survivors accompanied by what would be the only source of research data from the exhibition. Having said data in the palm of their hands, being the only country in the world with it, would make China the superpower they have always wanted to be, so their Annex soldiers will …

Madman Loses Viz Media Manga Distribution Rights to Simon & Schuster

Published by Luke Halliday

In some rather surprising news for manga readers down under, Viz Media have announced that they will no longer be distributing manga in Australia and by extension New Zealand through Madman Entertainment, the top anime and manga distributor in Australia for more than a decade now. This news comes hot off the heel of Madman announcing a 60% off manga clearance sale through their online store which looks to be spelling the end of manga from Madman, for now. Viz Media made the shock announcement via. press release stating that Simon & Schuster Australia will be handling manga distribution in Australia and New Zealand moving forward. Simon & Schuster has been the exclusive distribution partner of Viz Media for the United States and Canadian markets since 2004, the United Kingdom since 2007, and India starting in 2014. The new agreement will see the Australian arm of the business provide a full range of retail and wholesale distribution services for Viz Media’s substantial library of manga titles. Simon & Schuster Australia will also manage the distribution of …

Viz Media Reveals Partial English Dub Cast For Hunter X Hunter Anime

Published by Frank Inglese

The year 1999 was a wonderful one at that; Bill Gates was officially announced as the world’s wealthiest individual, hit HBO series The Soprano’s made it’s television debut, the Sega Dreamcast was released across America alongside Sonic Adventure, and Nippon Animation tried their hand at making a Hunter X Hunter Anime series. Many, many years later, in 2011, Studio Madhouse did something that Nippon Animation simply could not; produce a Hunter X Hunter Anime that will blow audiences away like none have done before it. Standing as one of the greatest Shonen Jump Anime adaptations, the more recent Hunter X Hunter Anime series follows the story of Gon Freecss; a Hunters searching for his estranged father. Sticking as close to it’s source material as possible, the Anime rocked audiences week to week from October of 2011 to September of 2014. Ever since the series began streaming through Western Anime distribution service Crunchyroll, English-speaking fans have been waiting for a dub of the series that will, hopefully, do it justice. Not too long ago it was announced …

Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition): Volume Ten – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Each of us, every single human being, has a path to walk. Wrong or right, it is a path regardless, and what must be known is that with every step forward comes incredible change. Some say that there are many paths to take, which can often instil a sense of anxiety in an individual: Where to go next? What to do now? Have I made the right choice? These are but only a few of the questions that come with a life of choice, but what if I was to say that the choices are not our own, that are lives have been predetermined by some higher power? Pose this question to Monk Takuan and what he’ll tell you is that such a belief allows for us to be completely free. Instead of thinking, pondering, wondering what comes next, we walk forward with determination, facing what comes in our way only when it does so, all the while staying true to ourselves on an instinctual level. Such freedom is a gift few of us have …

Tokyo Ghoul Volume Four – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

I love watching the cooking channel, this is something all my family and friends already know. Now, just because my nightly routine has me following the tasty exploits of Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain, that doesn’t mean I’m any kind of gourmand. I like food, obviously, and I enjoy watching people cook it, but I don’t know what it means to be a lover of fine cuisine. Unfortunately for Tokyo Ghoul protagonist, Kaneki Ken, he has just been introduced to a man who considers himself quite the culinary connoisseur, but seeing as this man is more a devilish Ghoul than that of an actual man, it is very much like him to take things to the absolute extreme. Shun Tsukiyama, a Ghoul titled “The Gourmet“, is known for causing trouble for both humans and Ghouls alike, and now he’s set his sights on one Kaneki Ken; a half-human half-ghoul hybrid with a mouth-watering odour…apparently. With Shun’s sights set on him, Kaneki will quickly come to understand what it feels like to be the main ingredient …

Twin Star Exorcists Volume Three – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Who the hell do you think you are, huh? Going around saying things like; “A Shonen Manga can’t have shocking revelations so early on in it’s run“. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that there are people like you making such-oh, wait…you didn’t say anything like that? Seriously? Geez, well, I’m so sorry, I kind of flew off the handle there for no reason. It just scares me to think that maybe somewhere out in the big, bad world people might be saying things of this kind, especially because of how much I’m liking Shonen Jump’s latest Manga hit Twin Star Exorcists, which just so happens to feature it’s fair share of shocking twists. Volume two of the Manga left off with one heck of a cliffhanger: It was revealed that Rokuro was at the very center of the Hinatsuki tragedy, and as a cause of it was cursed with his Kegare-like right arm. Volume three of Twin Star Exorcists decides that one twist was not nearly enough. In fact, it was just the …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Nine – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Month after month, release after release, volume after volume, Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) still finds ways to surprise and delight me, and it has quickly become of my more favoured alternative Shonen Jump productions of recent times. We’re now up to Volume Nine of the series’ run and, for the longest time, there has been an ongoing arc which, in my personal opinion, will go down in history as just another one of those outstanding Shonen Jump arcs that you will continue to remember long after you’ve finished reading. The Rescue Rukia arc from Bleach, the Chunnin Exams arc from Naruto, the Paramount War arc from One Piece, and now the Fall Classic arc from Food Wars!. What makes these story arcs so riveting? What makes them so memorable? What makes them stand out above every other arc featured in their significant stories? This writer feels as though it has a lot to do with heart. The thing about the arcs I mentioned just before is that they don’t actually share many similarities. Yes, of …

Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition): Volume Eight And Nine – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

To live the true life of a Samurai, one must master not only the art of combat but poetry, painting, illustration, conversation, and everything in between. The road of the warrior does not lead straight ahead, there are turns to make through avenues unexpected that will teach a man to master the lifestyle. Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest swordsman in all of Japan, wrote about this in The Book Of Five Rings saying: “You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”. What is interesting about the life of Miyamoto Musashi, a famed Samurai and philosopher, is that it was only through years of combat that he was able to come to develop a practice not entirely based on swordsmanship. Some time in his life something had changed him. Whilst a young Miyamoto Musashi would grin at the possibility of combat, an older Miyamoto Musashi would write about why one believes such a situation to be beneficial, or the inverse. In volumes Eight and Nine of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond, provided to …

Tokyo Ghoul Volume Three – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

When this world was created, by any deity you choose to believe was the cause, do you think all living things were made as equals? Chances are, if you answered “yes” you may be the type of person who doesn’t necessarily eat meat of any kind. Slaughtering and devouring an animal is akin to believing you have the right, as a superior being, to take another creatures life for the sake of prolonging your own…some believe. Others, like myself, tend to consider this act a simple part of the natural food chain. Much like a lion hunts a gazelle, we feed on cattle, and though there are ways to survive without taking the life of another beast, there are also clear differences, both intelligence and otherwise, between us and the animals we choose to call “food”. Now what if our food was as intelligent, if not moreso, than ourselves? Does that make it wrong to hunt, kill, and feed on said creatures for sustenance? Granted, when referring to the Ghouls of Tokyo Ghoul, some more …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Eight – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

The final pages of Food Wars! Volume seven left readers in a state of anticipation thanks to the cliffhanger ending that saw protagonist Soma finally about to go head-to-head with his Fall Classic arc nemesis Akira Hayama; the self-proclaimed master of curry. Volume seven served as an introductory volume that set up a great deal of the story that leads directly into the confrontation between these two culinary juggernauts. That then transitions almost seamlessly into the next, and possibly final, segment of this tournament-arc. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, once again, for allowing us the opportunity to review the latest release in this much-loved Manga series. The battle of the Fall Classic preliminaries comes to a thundering close! Can Soma conjure up a curry masterpiece brilliant enough to surpass a dish from the master of fragrance, Akira Hayama? This volume also includes a bonus story about the adventures of a certain someone during her lazy summer vacation! – Madman Entertainment Volume eight took an entirely different approach to story development than volume seven which, …

Twin Star Exorcists Volume Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Like it or not; we all have things from our past that we simply cannot escape. Bad memories, bad experiences, things that tested us both physically and mentally; often we wish that they could simply be erased, so we run from them. The problem is…we cannot run forever. Eventually the things we fear so gravely will catch up to us, this is an inevitability. For the Twin Star Exorcists Rokuro and Benio, their pasts are filled with nothing but tragedy; memories they wish they could escape, but never will. Volume two of Twin Star Exorcists has just been released down here in Australia thanks to Madman Entertainment, and with it comes the bombshell of a lifetime that has truly kicked this Shonen Jump Manga into second gear, readying it for the first big arc of the series; something a seasoned Shonen reader knows can make or break a Manga. Hopefully it’s not the latter. Twin Star Exorcists volume two stays in much the same realm as the first volume with it’s Shonen story elements mixed …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Seven – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Every story, no matter how boiling hot, gets to a point wherein which it starts to cool, it starts to slow down, it comes to…a simmer. After six jaw-dropping volumes of Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) I feel as though the time has come for the series to take a natural step back in preparation for big things to come, and it was the pacing of this latest volume that put such a thought into my head. Every good Manga series has that one volume that doesn’t quite hit the mark, possibly because, much like this particular one, what goes on between it’s pages is mostly set-up for the duel between the story’s main character and the current rival. Almost every single Shonen Manga has this and, seeing as Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) is indeed a Shonen Manga…it makes a great deal of sense that, it too, would fall victim to such a common pacing issue. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, as always, we’ve been given to chance to review the latest volume of the …

Tokyo Ghoul Volume Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Tokyo Ghoul is the story of a boy who’s forced into a life between two worlds, having to exist on either side of two opposing forces each willing to kill the other for the sake of their kind’s survival. Kaneki Ken is no longer a human and yet, despite his organs being that of a Ghoul’s, he also has no place in the world of these monsters either. In the first volume of this young Manga series created by the mysterious Sui Ishida, we were introduced to the young man mentioned above; a intelligent individual named Kaneki Ken. In volume two the introductions stop as room is made for tragedy to begin unfolding. For the very first time as a member of the Ghouls, Kaneki Ken has seen the true discriminate brutality of the humans as he bares witness to a fellow pacifistic Ghoul being put down by the forces of the CCG (Commission of Counter Ghoul), a sub-government organisation with a singular purpose; kill all Ghouls. This is the genesis of Kaneki’s change of heart as …

Terra Formars Volume Seven – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

The thing about space travel is that it’s quite dangerous, as well as being extraordinarily expensive. Once you leave the gravity of Earth, who the hell knows what is going to happen next. If you’re a crew of half-bug people on your way to Mars, chances are some weird stuff is going to go down…like bipedal cockroach men, but that’s something you’ve been trained to deal with, kind of. What happens when, after almost a week of trying to survive against said cockroach men, you’re then having to deal with the forces of…other humans? Terra Formars is now into it’s seventh volume, and it just continues to get more and more exciting. Madman Entertainment have been doing a fantastic job bringing this thrilling science-fiction story to Australia and New Zealand, and, once again, us here at SnapThirty have been given a chance to review the latest volume which takes a huge stride to the left and begins branching off on a storyline I saw coming a while ago, but I’m very much glad is now …

Simmer Down! Episode 2 – Cooking Alice Nakiri’s Milkshake from Food Wars: Shokugeki No Soma

Published by Frank Inglese

On episode one of Simmer Down!, good chef and bad chef Frank Inglese and Luke Halliday did something many people thought impossible; they made a dish from the hugely popular Food Wars!, also known as Shokugeki No Soma. It wasn’t that the dish was hard to make, this much has been proven by countless other YouTube videos, it was actually the coming together of two idiotic forces that had people in an almost unshakable state of disbelief. How can these two men ever work in synchronicity? Only under the guidance of Chef Ramsay is such a thing possible! Frank and Luke take to the kitchen for another episode of the SnapThirty cooking show Simmer Down!. This time around they’ve decide to prepare another dish from Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) that actually doesn’t involve any cooking, instead only intricate preparation. Alice Nakiri, a talented but arrogant and annoying chef from the series, created this egg-based milkshake to wow judges chosen to critique new and exciting buffet dishes. Frank and Luke also want to wow audiences …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Five and Six – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Madman Entertainment continue to roll out fantastic releases each and every month, but none more exciting than that of Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma). Why though? Not only is it a fantastic Shonen Anime that somehow relates the culinary world with that of a treacherous battlefield…but Madman are releasing two volumes at a time! Don’t you get what this means? It means we’re getting double the usual amount of Food Wars! media which means I’m spending double the time being engulfed by this fantastic series. Calling it a “fantastic series” shouldn’t be too much of a review-spoiler by now seeing as I’ve already critiqued each and every volume up until this point in time and have loved it all the way. We’re now up to volumes five and six; a pair of volumes that, together, perfectly set up the coming arc which I’m lead to believe wont come and go as all the others have done in the past. This is the calm before the proverbial storm…and it isn’t even that peaceful. I guess that’s …

Tokyo Ghoul Volume One – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

There’s a few fairly obvious reasons as to why you’re all here reading this review. Although I’d like to think it’s because you’re a fan of the website and, more importantly, a fan of my writing…I don’t think it has anything to do with that, not when the subject is Sui Ishida’s Tokyo Ghoul. A psychological thriller revolving around the collision of two worlds, Tokyo Ghoul quickly became one of the most popular contemporary Anime titles as of late, much like that of Hajime Isayama’s Attack On Titan which went through a similar popularity spike after just the first episode. Chances are, you’re not that big a fan of the Anime. If you were, you probably would have already bought the Manga for yourself before reading any reviews, that’s just how dedicated the fan base of Tokyo Ghoul is. I’d like to think you’re more like me; someone who watched the Anime all the way through and was left somewhat unsatisfied. Being told that the Manga is much more in-depth and therefor more enjoyable than the Anime, you …

Twin Star Exorcists Volume One – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Everyone’s good at something, this much I’m sure of. Even if you think you’re not good at anything, chances are you’re pretty good at something. Rokuro, well, he’s really good at slaying demons. He’s been that way ever since he can remember, but a certain tragedy stopped him from doing what it is that he once did best. Imagine you’re really good at soccer: You’re the star player on your team, everybody thinks you’re great, and your opponents are actually pretty scared of you, even though they come across as being fearless. What if one day one of the opposing teams slaughtered each and every single member of your crew…bar you. Chances are, you’re not going to want to play soccer again, right? Now replace soccer with demons, and teammates with the closest thing you’ve got to a family…now you’re on your way to understanding the life of our young hero. One of Madman Entertainment’s latest Manga publications, Twin Star Exorcists, has just hit shelves around Australia and New Zealand, and we at SnapThirty have …

Gangsta Volume Six – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Gangsta is set in a city that is almost constantly on the verge of caving in on itself. Run by four Mafia heads, there’s a constant struggle with each of them trying to claw their way to the top. They’re all very dignified and they play nice with each other to maintain their respective facades, but with The Destroyers in town causing trouble and The Hunters on the prowl tying up loose ends, this gives one of the families the chance to launch themselves above the rest by doing something more sinister than you can imagine. Something that will throw off the balance of Ergastulum in a way like never before. Volume six sees the end of one conflict which naturally leads into the beginning of another. Delico, still searching for his twin sister, continues along the path of reconciliation with his partner Yang, and Galahad stays as strong as possible for the sake of the Christiano’s while mourning the death of someone that was once very close to him. Volume six is one of …

Terra Formars Volume Six – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

An Earth day lasts twenty four hours. Do you know how long a full day on Mars lasts? Not too much longer than that, maybe only about forty minutes. This means that Earth and Mars have similar rotations. Now if you were to ask me how long a day on Mars lasts after only reading through Madman Entertainment’s hit Manga Terra Formars, I’d probably tell you it lasts a great deal longer. Actually, if we’re determining the length of a Mars day going strictly off of the Manga’s release schedule…a complete Mars day lasts for almost five months, but I don’t know why you’d determine the length of another planet’s day by using the release schedule of a popular science-fiction series. I most likely would, this is why I’m a writer for an online publication and noy an astronaut. We’re now into the sixth volume of Terra Formars, five of which have focused on the soldiers of Annex I and one of which works as somewhat of a prequel to the events of the series’ …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume Three and Four – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

How did we get so lucky? Over the past two months, Madman Entertainment have been releasing the Food Wars! Manga in pairs, I assume so that they can catch up to Viz Media’s North American release schedule which is already up to volume eight! Despite the reason why, I just hope the Manga keeps coming at this pace because I’ll be damned if I have to go a month without reading at least a single volume of this Shonen Jump Advanced food fest! Yeah, that’s how much I’m liking it so far. There may be some of you out there who aren’t exactly up to date with Food Wars!, and I suggest that you do not read this review seeing as you’ll be way out of the loop. Instead, why don’t you go and read my review of the first two volumes which can be found here. I assure you, as the person who wrote the review, it’ll be very much worth your while. Who knows? You may even end up grabbing yourself a new …

Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition): Volume Seven – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

It takes a special Mangaka to be able to make a deaf/mute man one of the most interesting characters in a story that spans as long as the award winning Vagabond. Takehiko Inoue is one of those special Mangakas. So special, in fact, that I can literally only think of one other who has attempted to write such a character and has succeeded; Kohske, who you’d know is the brains and talent behind the neo crime series Gangsta. Spanning all of volume six and continuing long into volume seven is the story of Sasaki Kojiro; an incredibly skilled master of the blade who has now taken a huge step into his adulthood and towards that same immortality Miyamoto Musashi himself longs for so dearly. The readers continue to take leave from the story of Takezo (Musashi) so as to remain with Kojiro as he’s taken to the battle of Sekigahara and left to fend for himself, a deaf man in a war zone. Later on in the story we return to Musashi’s side as he …

Food Wars! (Shokugeki No Soma) Volume One and Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

I WOULD say that cooking programs are my “guilty pleasure“, but I honestly don’t feel much guilt after catching an episode of Jamie’s fifteen Minute Meals. The way I see it; humans eat a minimum of three times a day. You’ve got breakfast, lunch, AND dinner, though if you ask Childish Gambino…they’re just for beginners. Us humans eat SO much, we might as well eat good! That’s why, although my skills are closer to “none” than “great“, I still insist on being the cook in my household at least once a week, though I’ve never wanted to be an actual chef. Something I understand about the life of a proper chef, from knowing a number of former chefs, is that it is an incredibly difficult one. I was once told that a chef never quite leaves the kitchen, even long after their hard day is over. A lot resort to drinking to wind down, and most don’t last too long in the industry without cracking and hanging up their apron for good. I suppose what Anthony …

Guns Out! – Gangsta. Anime Official Website Releases Preview 1.5

Published by Frank Inglese

The official website for the upcoming Anime adaptation of Kohske’s hit crime noir Manga Gangsta. has been updated overnight to now include a new preview that, although like the three-minute one that came before it, shows us a little more of what the upcoming Anime series has to offer. Cut down to a quick minute and a half, this new preview simply works to inflate hype for the series that is already at immeasurable heights. Much like what Blood Blockade Battlefront has done to the current season, I can see Gangsta. absolutely blowing the competition out of the water. I know this for sure as someone who’s read the Manga and knows exactly what to expect from the Anime…though the few previews released also help determine just how incredible it’s going to be. Good thing is…the series is set to premier in July so, granted some Western distributor picks up the rights, we won’t be waiting too long to actually see this series episode by episode. Anyway, enough writing, enough typing, enough reading…just watch the …

Assassination Classroom Volume Three – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

As an Australian who got his education at an Australian school, taught by Australian teachers, surrounded by Australian friends and Australian environments…it has always been hard relating to the average Anime or Manga student seeing as, well…they’re Japanese, and the two cultures don’t have much crossover. I’ve never had a fellow student take roll call, I’ve never eaten lunch on the school roof, I’ve never had to change into sports gear midway through the day, and I’ve never been introduced to a transfer student. In comparison to the Japanese school lifestyle…my education days were terribly boring. Volume Three of Yusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom finishes off the small arc that started midway through Volume Two, which saw Class-E head off on a trip to Kyoto only to promptly run into trouble…typical of students from the Assassination Classroom. Unlike what I experienced in Volumes One and Two, what I was reading in Volume Three simply didn’t hit me in the same way. Especially the first half of the volume. The great jokes that once made me chuckle out loud, …

World Trigger Volume Five – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

It’s so strange to me; Daisuka Ashihara’s World Trigger isn’t nearly as popular as I imagined it was months ago. I saw this Manga turned Anime and thought to myself; “surely this is what’s leading the popularity polls in Japan”. I can’t honestly say I know why I thought that, it just had a look about it that I couldn’t help but shake. It was a huge surprise to me when fellow writer and friend Luke Halliday explained that it is a Manga that has constantly been on the verge of being axed, which is sad but also wonderfully uplifting. Think about this: World Trigger calls the chopping block it’s home. It’s always on the very edge of continued publication yet somehow always remains in the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump and author Daisuke Ashihara is still employed to keep up with production. This means that, although World Trigger is almost always one foot in the grave, it fights on to live another day. This hasn’t just happened once…this has happened many times, and …

Terra Formars Volume Five – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

This may seem somewhat outlandish but I beg that, before you jump to aggressive conclusions, you think about just what it is that I’m about to say: We live in a strange age that glorifies and celebrates mediocrity, especially in the world of pop culture. I’ve seen countless Anime and Manga rise to stardom undeservedly, I’ve seen many characters who’ve risen to an unjustified level of popularity, I’ve seen what I consider to be the downfall of story/character writing and now I’m seeing one hell of an overall shift. In recent months I’ve been able to experience some of the most exciting Anime and Manga of all time thanks to my role here at SnapThirty. Before we started this website, I thought the industry was at an all-time low…and I truly think, even now, that it was. Since then things have been looking up. I was introduced to Manga like World Trigger, Assassination Classroom, Gangsta, and yes, Terra Formars. I then came to realise that an overall storyline is not just what makes a series …

The Godfather Of Shinobi – Masashi Kishimoto Announced As Guest For New York Comic Con

Published by Frank Inglese

I cannot stress this enough but…Naruto will simply never die! I know for a fact that I’ve written many articles in the recent past regarding the series and most of those articles start in, more or less, the same way. I usually talk about how Naruto, despite the main storyline Manga being finished and the Anime being on it’s way out, is still one of the most popular Shonen series’ of all time. This time around…I’m not going to worry about explaining that because, let’s be honest; if you don’t already know this by now than you’re simply not as big a Naruto fan than you think you are. We just saw the Western release of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump’s latest issue, which is published by Viz Media outside of Japan, and within the new edition comes a nice piece of news that sees the creator of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto himself, taking a trip out to North America for the New York Comic Con festivities. Yes, you read correctly! Masashi Kishimoto has just been announced to be …

Gangsta Volume Five – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

What is it that compels people to kill? To take the life of another? We’re taught from birth that such a thing is simply inhuman. Never should this be done, so why is it that people continue to do it? There’s this force within some of us, humans I mean, that lies in wait entirely invisible to all our senses. It wells up inside and forces people to do the things they never thought they could. Sometimes that thing is murder. Most of us never even ponder the possibility of taking a life, yet people do it countless times every single day. Pop culture as a whole has desensitised us to death, that alongside the evening news. You know, sometimes even the hero kills if they have to. Kohske’s Gangsta is just another Manga series that doesn’t shy away from the death and destruction. You’re guaranteed to see a brutal murder every single volume but do you know what the difference is? The protagonists never insinuate that what they are, are anything BUT just two …

Terra Formars Volume Four – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

I havn’t always been this way but, as of recent years, I’ve come to believe in the true concept of evolution. Why I would disbelieve it is something you’d have to ask a very young Frank Inglese, but the fact that I now believe in that particular process of growth means that I, myself, have gone through a sort of evolution. I now believe that those who do not evolve will become obsolete; something many around me have been preaching for some time but something that I havn’t quite come to terms with until now in my old age…of twenty one. Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana’s hit Manga Terra Formars deals a great deal with the idea of rapid growth and evolution, with some startling and frankly terrifying results. Many years ago, Humans tried their hand at terraforming Mars because, well…I think maybe Earth is on it’s last legs. A viable option to replace Earth would have to be to change Mars and that’s exactly what the scientific citizens of Earth did. Too bad that those …

Assassination Classroom Volume Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Yeah, I’ll admit it; I sometimes miss my high school days. I do, I do. I hate saying so though, especially because my Mother would always lecture me on the importance of enjoying my experience there while I could. It’s funny, she never spoke to me about anything regarding academic excellence. She always pushed me further into the things that I loved but never forced me to do anything I didn’t have even a shred of enjoyment doing. Maybe that’s why I decided early on that I was going to be a comedian, or that I was going to be a writer, or that I was going to be a graphic novelist. I was never given the spiel about being a doctor or a lawyer because, to her, what is important isn’t money or status but happiness. Amazingly, there were only a few teachers in my time that ever preached the same way of thinking; that doing something you love is ultimately more rewarding than being at the top of your class or on the very last …

VIZ Media Is Bringing The “Yo-Kai Watch” Manga To The West This September

Published by Frank Inglese

There’s a new franchise that’s slowly but surely been taking over Japan and it too, like “Pokemon” and “Digimon”, has everything to do with capturing monsters, raising them and defending the world from some impending doom. This new series of video games, action figures and collectible trading cards also happens to have an Anime adaptation that is being well-received around the world, despite the fact that it has only been released legally across Japan. Level-5’s “Yo-Kai Watch” truly is the “next big thing” and it seems as though both the young and old, according to its Japanese fanbase, can enjoy what this young franchise has to offer. Avid readers of this site and fans of the series will already know that, after a long time of waiting, “Yo-Kai Watch” will be making its way to the West sometime this year. Yes, that means the video games, Anime, toys and everything else will be hitting local shelves sooner than you could say “Gashadokuro”. Something you may not know is that the series has also spawned a …

Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition): Volume Five and Volume Six – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

The month of March saw the release of two volumes of the critically acclaimed “Vagabond” Manga by legendary graphic novelist Takehiko Inoue. For someone like me that absolutely adores the series it was comparable to that of Christmas day when my review copies of the volumes finally arrived. With three volumes per Vizbig Edition I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer number of chapters I had ahead of me, but my excitement to see just what comes next in the story of Miyamoto Musashi possessed me to spend every possible waking moment engulfed by the series that has not only inspired me but millions around the world. After completing the first volume I then made the decision to combine what would usually be two individual reviews into one. It was only at those final pages of volume five did I realise that the series had entered a new arc that would likely span not only the next volume but long after that. Volume five took us back in time to a point in history long …

Dawn of the Arcana Volume One – Review

Published by Jahanzeb Khan

Dawn of the Arcana is a fairly successful Shojo series in its native territory, and it is actually the first series by author and illustrator, Rei Toma, to be picked up for an English localization. Running from 2009 to 2013, this series has garnered praise for being a fairly solid Shojo that’s situated within a pretty heavy political fantasy premise, along with all the relationship triangles and romantic shenanigans that you’ve come to expect from the genre. At a glance, Dawn of Arcana is like Game of Thrones with a strong feminine touch, which can be a good or bad thing depending on who you are. All 13 volumes of the series have been localized courtesy of Viz Media, and Madman has picked the series up for distribution in Australia and New Zealand. The first volume came out just recently, so let’s see if it leaves a lasting impression. Dawn of the Arcana tells a typical tale of two warring nations stuck within the confines of an island, with decades of bloodshed and animosity that …

Gangsta Volume Four – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Sex sells! It’s a simple truth of this world. In fact, there’s an entire industry that proves it and it’s featured in, surprisingly enough, almost all facets of pop culture. Specifically; crime stories. Every good gangster-type story has three main staples: Guns, suits and beautiful women. Unfortunately, most of the men who write these types of stories forget that the ladies are just as important as characters than the men. This is why, most of the time, the story will focus only on the male characters and not so much the women. “Gangsta”, though, is very much different. The Manga takes what we’ve been taught about the life of a Mobster and flips it on its head: For once, the men and women are on an even keel. This means both genders can own their own brothel BUT both can be gunned down violently by an enemy family. It seems as though volume four, above the three that came before it, makes the audience well aware of the fact that women in the world of “Gangsta” play just as …

Terra Formars Volume Three – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Let me lay it down for you: Eventually, so I’ve been lead to believe, this planet will be no more. With the inevitable death of the Earth will come the eradication of every single native species…that includes us humans. This is why we have to start thinking about alternative existence plans. Lucky for us, there are a whole bunch of other planets hanging around in the same solar system as ours that would gladly allow for us to change it’s overall makeup to resemble Earth. This is what we call ‘Terraforming’, though it’s a little more complicated than what I just described. – Excerpt from “Terra Formars” Volume One Review By this point in “Terra Formars”, Earth has tried their hand at colonising Mars a couple of times but, for some mysterious reason, the crews sent to the red planet all come back dead…or, in fact, not at all. Volume three follows the story of Annex I, the fourth group to head to Mars, on their trip across the stars. Unfortunately they’re attacked by those …

VAGABOND (VIZBIG EDITION): VOLUME FOUR – REVIEW

Published by Frank Inglese

With every new volume of “Vagabond” comes another lesson about combat and about life, as well as a very happy Frank Inglese because recently “Vagabond” has quickly become one of my favorite Manga titles of all time. Based on the true-to-life story of Miyamoto Musashi, “Vagabond” follows the young warrior on his way to worldwide supremacy as history’s greatest master of the sword. From the battle of Sekigahara all the way up until his death, famed Mangaka Takehiko Inoue takes us on a visual journey through the blood-filled times of an ancient Japan and thanks to Madman Entertainment I’ve, once again, been given the chance to review the latest volume. It’s quite funny: People constantly complain about the monotony of repetition. It’s usually a huge issue with video games but you come across this time and time again when it comes to things like Anime and Manga too. Every volume of “Vagabond” is, at its most basic, about Miyamoto Musashi going to fight another school. It’s seemingly very simple but what’s amazing is that it is …

World Trigger Volume Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Here we are at “World Trigger” volume two. My likes and dislikes are, surprisingly enough, divided by pretty simple guidelines: Give me something that piques my imagination and allows me to escape just as much into my own head as into the world of the story I’m reading, watching or playing and it gets an everlasting spot in my “Like” list. Give me something that is one-dimensional, ill-explained and overall boring, and I’ll simply forget it which, in turn, will land it on my “Dislike” list. “World Trigger” I never thought would be a series I’d continue reading. In fact, I never even thought about picking it up until Madman Entertainment offered it to us but here I am, onto volume two and before I’ve even finished I’m already in the mood for more. Like any other Manga series, volume two continues directly off of volume one so I’d suggest you read the first before moving on, or at least read my review of volume one of which you can find by Clicking Here. …

World Trigger Volume One – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

It’s been a very long time since I last read a Manga by famed publisher Shonen Jump. I used to be a huge fan back in my teen years which, coincidentally, is the target demographic for Shonen Manga’s like “Bleach” and “Naruto” but as I continued to grow, my love for these series’ began to dwindle. This is why I found myself in a very odd place when Madman Entertainment reached out to us an offered a copy of “World Trigger” volume one. For some reason I figuratively lunged at the chance to review a contemporary Shonen Manga despite my dislike for the recently-aired Anime adaptation and for the Shonen genre as a whole. Something deep within forced me onto “World Trigger” and, for the life of me, I cannot figure out just what it was. I just hope doing so doesn’t lead me down a path of review copies I can’t even stand to pick up…but Madman hasn’t let me down before so I’m hoping they won’t start now with “World Trigger”. (Written before …

Vagabond (Vizbig Edition): Volume Two – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

“An emotion induced by a threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function, and ultimately a change in behavior…”, is the official definition of fear. It’s a feeling that exists within all of us. The strong and the weak both find themselves afflicted by its crippling grip. It’s an invisible force that can turn the most confident of people into the most meek and if volume two of Madman Entertainment’s ‘Vagabond (Vizbig Edition)’ taught me anything, it’s that nothing can stop it. ‘Vagabond’ is a Manga series written and illustrated by famed Mangaka Takehiko Inoue who’s most famous for his Shonen sports series ‘Slam Dunk’. Based off of the novel ‘Musashi’, ‘Vagabond’ tells the story of real life figure Miyamoto Musashi; the worlds most well-known and masterful samurai. Volume two continues Miyamoto’s journey through Japan. Already storming his very first samurai school but making it out barely alive, he decides to continue on path of the blade thanks to his ignorant and stubborn nature. Heading to Nara, he intends …

Gangsta Volume Three – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

History is such a huge factor in the growth of a relationship, platonic or otherwise. There are some things within ones past that simply cannot be overlooked and, as humans, these are things we will never forget. This is just the way we are. We use what has happened in the past to define how we will grow into the future. Sometime for the better but other times for the worst. ‘Gangsta’, for those of you not in the know, is a new Manga series that follows the story of two men living in a town entirely occupied by killers, thieves, con men and criminals of all different types. Ergastulum, the city, is teeming with these ‘bad eggs’. What makes this place even worse is that some of its citizens happen to be the remnants of a civil war wherein which humans were turned into super soldier-type beings through the implementation of drugs. These are known as ‘Twilights’ or ‘Tags’. Worick, a gigolo and human memory card, has known his partner Nic, a deaf samurai …

Terra Formars Volume One Review

Published by Frank Inglese

Let me lay it down for you: Eventually, so I’ve been lead to believe, this planet will be no more. With the inevitable death of the Earth will come the eradication of every single native species…that includes us humans. This is why we have to start thinking about alternative existence plans. Lucky for us, there are a whole bunch of other planets hanging around in the same solar system as ours that would gladly allow for us to change it’s overall makeup to resemble Earth. This is what we call ‘Terraforming’, though it’s a little more complicated than what I just described. The crew of ‘Bugs 1’ – a team of highly intelligent, professionally trained astronauts and scientists that have been sent into space to search for a worthy Terraforming candidate – land on Mars. The red planet, being more like Earth than any other planet in the solar system, seems like the perfect place to start anew. To help the Terraforming process the crew spread things like heat-absorbing moss and algi around the planet, …

More ‘Gangsta’ Anime Cast Information Released

Published by Frank Inglese

Followers of the site will know that us here at SnapThirty have a deep love for the Manga series ‘Gangsta’, illustrated and written by Kohske and published by Viz Media/Madman Entertainment. About a month or so ago we were given news that the Manga will be getting a Anime adaptation, we were not told when Anime fans would be seeing the Anime but what was released were the names of the voice actors and actress who will be playing the parts of the main trio; Worick, Nicholas and Alex. Today that cast list as tripled in size with a Japanese blog updating their cast list for the Anime with a whole bunch of new names. This is exciting news because it means we’re getting closer and closer to the actual release of the Anime, or at least we’re getting closer to actually seeing some imagery of what the Anime is going to look like. Either way I’m very excited for the upcoming adaptation and I know you’re all just waiting to see who has signed …

Vagabond (Vizbig Edition): Volume One – Review

Published by Frank Inglese

There’s something within each and every single human being that drives us forward. We set ourselves goals we aim only to achieve despite the odds that may or may not be stacked against us. We enter into a state much like that of a boxer’s ‘tunnel vision’ where all we see is future success and no matter what, we believe that we will succeed. This is why the world continues to evolve day by day, but why exactly do we do this? In a way, being the greatest in your own field is somewhat of a selfish act. Think, just for a moment, the true reason why we do what we do. Is it for self satisfaction? Perhaps. Is it for the fame and glory? Quite possibly. Is it to be immortalized in the history of life itself? In my opinion, that’s exactly why we reach for higher ground day after day. As humans we long to live forever! Infinity is something we each wish to achieve whether it is through your career or through …

Viz Media announce Sailor Moon dub details

Published by Luke Halliday

In the name of the moon, Viz Media have announced their plans for their upcoming Sailor Moon dub and you should all be excited about it okay? Coinciding quite nicely with the premiere of Sailor Moon Crystal, the hotly anticipated reboot anime of the series, Viz Media have revealed the cast for their upcoming English dub of the original anime series. While the series was previously dubbed in the past, Viz Media will be using an entirely new cast and will be releasing the series completely unedited and uncut. The cast for the Viz Media English dub of Sailor Moon is as follows: Stephanie Sheh as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon Kate Higgins as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury Cristina Vee as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars Amanda C. Miller as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter Cherami Leigh as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus Robbie Daymond as Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask Johnny Yong Bosch as Artemis Michelle Ruff as Luna Danielle Nicole as Naru Osaka Ben Diskin as Gurio Umino Tara Platt as Ikuko Tsukino Keith Silverstein as Kenji Tsukino Nicolas Roye as Shingo Tsukino Cindy …

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Manga News From Anime Expo 2014 [UPDATE]

Published by Frank Inglese

“Oh my God!”, Anime Expo 2014 is on right now over in Los Angeles and straight from the Viz Media panel comes news that will surely have JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fans all across the West screaming “happy scrappy”! The American publisher has just announced that it has acquired the rights to publish the second part of the ‘JJBA’ Manga series, ‘Battle Tendency’, throughout North America which means, in turn, the Manga will eventually make it’s way down here to Australia. Oh yeah! It wasn’t too long ago that Viz acquired the rights to redistribute the ‘Stardust Crusaders’ Manga but they’ve rounded out their collection now that the first three parts of the long-running Shonen series’ licenses have been acquired and they’re all ready to make their way into the households of American readers. ‘Phantom Blood’ will hit local book store shelves in omnibus edition with it being released in three volumes. Part three, ‘Stardust Crusaders’, will begin to be digitally distributed this weekend through the official Viz Media site. For those of you who aren’t …