God Hand Densetsu

Umi-chan!

Hi twitties. I didn’t think this would happen. I’ve mostly lost all hope when it comes to more God Hand Press issues getting uploaded, but then, recently… guess what happened. Enter God Hand Densetsu. Before I get to the meat of the matter: maybe you don’t know what GHP is? Well, it’s a series of fanzines on porn that were being published irregularly on the Comiket in the nineties and twothousands. I’ve written before about a couple of issues of this marvel. What is God Hand Densetsu, then? Turns out it’s a collective edition (a soushuuhen, as doujin artists call it) of the first three issues in one book, with some corrections and additional content. Content like the cover (drawn by MarcyDog, as always) showing Kinomoto Sakura drenched in manjuice. Yup, God Hand is definitely back. Let us see what’s inside, then.

A Drifting Life (Gekiga Hyouryuu)

The cover.

Hi twitties. Until now, I’ve mostly been writing posts about recently bought and consumed books. And that would exclude all the goodies I purchased before 2016, when I started this blog. So, this blogpost will be about a certain old treasure. Maybe I should be combing through my old stuff in this coming year 2022? Don’t treat it as a sign that this blog will get much more lively, though. I promise nothing.

So, somewhere around 2012, I purchased this fun tome: A Drifting Life by Tatsumi Yoshihiro (originally Gekiga Hyouryuu), published by Drawn & Quarterly – an autobiographic work by an artist who proved crucial to the history of underground Japanese comics, and to the turn of the medium towards more mature audiences. The book is not only about the author’s life, but also a story running parallel to it – the history of Japanese manga. And of Japan in general. Nowadays, A Drifting Life is pretty-much unobtainable. I think I learned of it from a review on ANN (when I still was reading it everyday) and decided to buy the thing, since I’m a comix kind of guy. I remember trying to write a review of it back in the day, unsuccessfully. So, ten years later, it’s rematch time.

Tsukino-san no Note

The cover.

In February 2018, when the new phenomenon called “v-tubers” exploded in popularity, an agency assembling those virtual personalities called Nijisanji started its activities. Among the first batch of performers revealed by the agency was HER. A relatively realistic, no-frills design. Black long hair and a navy school uniform with pink details. And inside of that attractive 2D package – a pretty voice, an autoironic personality and plenty of nerdy interests. News of her reached me from a trusted source – there’s an exceptional entertainer, different from the horde of other youtubers hiding behind pretty, drawn avatars who deserves my attention. And so, shortly after her career’s start, I gave Tsukino Mito a chance and watched some of her vids. I became a fan and… here I am – it’s late 2021 and I’m still watching her streams and wishing her even greater success. May you live long, Mito-sama!

My Adventure with Mahjong

me when playing mahjong soul

Ever heard of mahjong? You’re, most likely, a weeb – so of course you know. If to this question you answer “yes, it’s the oriental game with the pyramid made from rectangular blocks that you have to dismantle”, then… No. That’s one-person mahjong, which is kids’ stuff. I’m talking about the real mahjong – the game where four players gather around a square table, lay tiles on its surface and look as gangstery as possible. This post is going to be about this noble, impressive pastime that deserves to be called “the royal game” more than chess.

On HakoMari v4

The cover.

Hi there twitties. It’s unfinished business time: since I recently gave the third volume of HakoMari a spin, it makes sense to also read the fourth one, as they form a two-parter. So, here we go. It won’t be a long post, though.