Monthly recap (July 2026)
Well I ended up writing way more than usual after I said all that shit about wanting to take a break.
Quarter life crisis
I spent most of July being dastardly sick and my 25th birthday thinking I was going to throw up in the office bathroom. But I got to go to Swashbucklers for a pirate themed-party which was nice.
Sailor Mr. Fuzzby taking on Bruno the pirate bear! And having a sundae with five balls of vanilla ice cream drizzled with passionfruit syrup as a reward.
Happy birthday to Genbu Kurono and 4th wedding anniversary with Barok van Zieks too 💚
Art log
Illustrations for my pro wrestling zine, didn't end up using them all.
Media log
One thing about me is that I'll read the most random fuckass manga in existence
Read
- ⭐⭐ Shuichi Shigeno - Initial D V1-2: THRILLING! Action manga should make you feel like your heart is on fire. The dramatic irony in the first few chapters is soo fun. I love how intentional and detailed the artwork is.
- Masaaki Nakayama - PTSD Radio V1: I feel so lucky to be able to find the exact manga I was after at the library! The art style is really great. The radio frequency concept is cute at first but after a couple of chapters it just turns into regular manga pacing but with super short chapters.
- Philip Pullman - Northern Lights: I was shocked that a story for kids would be so brazen about its depiction of Christianity. Apparently it's a retelling of Paradise Lost. Whadda hell???
The daemon culling crap has no effect until you realize later on that, being a symbol of the innocence of children before the original sin, it basically represents, well... Anyway, the main character has the worst parents in existence! - Ei Yamano - Someone Hertz C1-3: It's nice and cute but the style of humor really does not translate.
- Tatsuya Suganuma - Nice Prison: This is the shittiest manga to ever come out of Jump but it's an honest-to-god funny gag series and that's what matters. We don't get enough crap that's proud to be crap nowadays.
- Yabako Sandrovich, MAAM - How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? V1: This manga starts with the girl's friend commenting on her gaining weight and then cuts to a page where she looks disturbed after seeing that she's 55 kg. We need to prevent men from writing stories about weight loss. But the dynamic between the two main girls (a gyaru and the student council president) is really funny and cute and the author is actually knowledgeable about the topic because he's a martial artist IRL.
- ⭐ Tsuchika Nishimura - The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store V1: A delightful episodic manga about a woman who works at a department store that exclusively serves animal guests. The artwork is reminiscent of Northen European comics, very sweet and lovely.
- Haunted Peak C15: Honestly even tho it's Ryo I don't think anything bad will happen to MC! But I do think this is incel manga and he will be very mad that his only male friend was taken by a woman
- ⭐️ Me & Roboco: This manga is so hit or miss that it's kinda fascinating. Best bits: Meta chapters that make fun of Me & Robco, immortal Gorilla Gachi, Roboco monologing to herself about how the 20 year old guys are total freaks. Worst bits: Parody faces, chapters where the characters argue about food, Jump glazing without self-parody, combination issue chapters, anything where the 20 year olds are taken seriously. After catching up I went onto Ao3 to see if there were any Me & Roboco fanfics, but there wasn't a single one. I'm disappointed in that but I'm even more disappointed in myself for looking that up to begin with.
I thought this was just the author being self-deprecating as usual but it's actually true.
- ⭐️ Stephen Follows - What just happened to TheNumbers.com should worry us all: AI bots are deathly inefficient at crawling. Pisses me off.
- Ai Yazawa - Nana V3: The journal-like prose of each chapter's beginning and end makes it clear that Ai Yazawa does melodrama like no other; each middle overflowing with OTT humor proves she's unparalleled in comedy too.
- Satoru Noda - DOGSRED V1-3: I've never seen a mangaka fully reboot their own manga before. The story itself is very interesting and funny (
the main character's boot breaking at a pivotal moment only to reveal him wearing Louis Vuitton socks killed me ) and I'm very impressed by the dedication to research; there's a whole page at the end for all the sources the author worked with. Awesome paneling and action. - Hideo Yamamoto V1 - Hikari-Man: I get that the 3D modelling is suitable for the theme of the story but Jesus Christ it is ugly as fuck. Story was just bullied nerd wish fulfillment. Reminded me I should go finish Serial Experiments Lain instead.
- ⭐️⭐️ Uketsu, Kyo Ayano - The Strange House V1-6: Really fun! I highly like how the mysteries use architectural layouts and how suspenseful the story is without using jumpscares. The architect is sexy as fuck woof woof. I'm going to read the novel once I can get it from the library.
- David Foster Wallace - Shipping Out: On the (Nearly Lethal) Comforts of a Luxury Cruise: I put my writing through some which author are you most like analyzer once and got this guy. Now that I'm finally reading his shit I kinda giggle because bro really is like me but way smarter.
- Taiyo Matsumoto - Tokyo These Days V1: This feels like an 80s gekiga but it's only 5 years old LOL. It's definitely artsy like Ping Pong. I'm not going out of my way to read the rest but I think it'll be interesting to see a manga-making story that's not about Jump and comes from an editor POV.
PSA: Shueisha is running the massive MANGA MILLION campaign right now and it is truly insane. You can read hundreds of manga for free, including series that have never been translated into English before. They translated all of Kochikame! WTF!!!
For lesser-known, previously translated manga, I recommend GALS! by Mihona Fujii. For previously unlocalized manga, I recommend ONE PIECE in Love by Daiki Ihara.
Speaking of One Piece, they translated 108 chapters into 107 languages, so it now an official Te Reo Māori translation. Literally got goosebumps. I remember being a 11 year old kid feeling out of place even among anime fans because so few people read One Piece—it was definitely the least talked-about of the big three in DeviantArt era—but now it's probably the most translated title outside of the Bible.
Watched
- The Boys S5: That shit was truly so ass.
- SolarSands - Rudon's Plane
- ⭐️ Trolligarch: All of this dude's videos are just him causing internet drama and then talking about it in the most neutral tone possible. I love it
Listened
- Charli XCX - Music, Fashion, Film: Love the cover. Music itself is very abrasive, gotta give it another listen...
Other
- Auckland Art Gallery - Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now: I'm the sort who reads every plaque next to every piece of art, but for once, my parents stayed to look at an art exhibition much longer than I did. I also spend more time than them looking at Chinese artifacts in history museums—so I think that this exhibition offered an interesting middle ground where they weren't bored by the familiar but also weren't put off by wholly foreign concepts. Wow... this is why we need cultural #diversity... My favorite piece was Infinite Landscape by Yang Yongliang.
- Forbidden Pharmacy: An exhibition to bring awareness to 200+ medicines unavailable or not funded in New Zealand.