Arte – 07 [The Venetian Noble]

Apologies for the slight delay in posting this week’s episode review. I have been busy preparing for my end-terms (yup, the world’s in a freaking pandemic but we still gotta give exams!) so, taking time out to write reviews has proven to be a bit difficult. I hope you’ll excuse some other possible delays in the coming weeks. Though, I’ll try my best to adhere to schedule.

Anywho, this week on Arte, the soon-to-be-full-time-working-and-money-making artisan, things get shaken up a little with the introduction of two new characters: the sweet-talking Yuri Falier and Leo-san’s old friend(!), Ruthanna. How does Arte deal with their arrival? Let’s talk about it.
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[Manga Musings on Mondays] Voices in the Dark – Review

 

Created by: Junji Ito

Chapters: 7

 

Greetings, fellow manga fans. As is norm, every new week, a new monday rolls around and as has now become tradition, a new manga review comes along with it! This week, we talk about Junji Ito’s short story collection Voices in the Dark. Is it genuinely scary or overhyped like some of the creator’s other works? Read on to find out!

 

THE PREMISE:
Seven horror short-stories filled with plenty of nightmare fuel.

 

WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT:

For anyone even remotely read in popular manga, the name Junji Ito needs no introduction. Even if you may not have read his works, you surely must be familiar with the notorious reputation he’s amassed over his illustrious career. His works have become iconic pieces of Japanese manga which are deemed impossible to translate to screen and that’s why, any attempts to do so up until now have expectedly, been failures. Hence, it’s become common belief that there’s nothing quite like reading a Junji Ito manga. That’s why, a couple of years ago, when I started reading Gyo, I was all braced up to descend into the dark world of sleep-depriving atrocities.

 

 

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[Manga Musings on Mondays] Nijigahara Holograph – Review

 

Created by: Inio Asano

Chapters: 12

 

What do I see here? It’s another M in the Day’s column of the calendar. And you all know what that means, don’t you? Uh-ha! It’s time for another manga review!

This week around we will be talking about quite possibly my favorite mangaka of all time, Inio Asano and his nearly impenetrable puzzle-box of a manga, ironically titled Nijigahara (Rainbow-Field) Holograph. Let’s break it down.

 

THE PREMISE:
A set of interconnected stories spanning 10 years in the lives of people who inhabit a city and have nothing in common apart from knowing a girl who sits by the Nijigahara embankment and says that a monster will come and bring an end to the world as we know it.

 

       

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Arte – 06 [Trade Guild]

Hello and welcome to the review of another episode of Arte, the Soccer Ace. The halfway point in the story of Arte has finally arrived and this week, she learns to paint fancy graffiti and play 16th-century Italian football. Let’s talk about it.

A member of Leo-san’s trade guild passes away and he takes Arte along for the funeral. All the other artists assembled there are surprised or angered to see a woman present among them. Some are very vocal in the display of their dislike towards Arte while others just avoid getting involved and ignore her altogether. The masters of the guild are concerned that Arte’s presence would become a point of conflict amongst the guild members and decide to give her a test to prove her mettle as a competent apprentice.

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[Manga Musings on Mondays] The Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer – Review

 

A new week, a new Monday, a new Manga Review! Hello, dear sir/ma’am, it’s extremely gracious of you to take time out from your busy schedule to come check out this post. I am eternally grateful. Now, with the formalities all out of the way, let’s jump into this week’s review!

Today, we will be talking about Satoshi Mizukami’s seminal work, Hoshi no Samidare or The Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer and how it parodies genre stereotypes while still being a highly thrilling and heartfelt story at its core. Let’s break it down.

 

THE PREMISE:

A talking lizard seeks a boy’s help to protect the princess, Lucifer, and save the world from the evil witch who intends to destroy earth by crushing it to bits using a hammer with a biscuit-shaped head.

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Arte – 05 [Inescapable Bond]

 

To all readers, new and regular alike… Hi! Nice of you to join me as we discuss about the latest episode of Arte the arty Artisan. This time around, our ever-cheerful protagonist sharpens the kind of skills every artist, no matter how good, must develop in order to ensure their survival: marketing!

This week, we learn that Leo-san keeps a fast every Friday which makes Arte crave for that juicy steak even more. But she stays strong against her gluttonous desires and diligently goes about carrying out her errands. As she is returning back to Leo-san’s place, she catches a glimpse of a man heading out after having a heated argument with her teacher. Leo-san tells her that that man, Mr. Umbertino, comes around every so often to order paintings with very precise specifications but the money he pays for these orders doesn’t leave room for them to make any profits after all expenses are accounted for. Leo-san intends to negotiate with him regarding this but Arte offers to do it instead. After giving it some thought, Leo-san agrees to her proposal.

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[Manga Musings on Mondays] My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness – Review

Created by: Nagata Kabi

Chapters: 6

 

Welcome, friends and foes alike, to week 3 of Manga Musings on Mondays. This week I try to give my thoughts on Nagata Kabi’s critically lauded auto-biographical tale, My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. Let’s begin!

THE PREMISE:
A girl in her late-20s tries to come to terms with her sadness and inability to form human connections by developing acceptance for herself; weird, ugly, broken pieces and all.

 

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Arte – 04 [Courtesan]

Welcome to another week of ‘Arte learns life-lessons while painting as a side business’. This week, we are reunited with the lovely Courtesan-san from back in episode 2, with whom Arte forms an unlikely friendship. Let’s break it all down.

Last week, we saw Arte developing feelings of romantic affection towards a man for the first time in her life, which made her feel a kind of pain she had been unfamiliar to all her life. She couldn’t understand her own emotions and this week too, she seems to be having a hard time dealing with them. Whenever Leo-san is anywhere near her or their bodies so much as brush up against each other, Arte finds herself stiffening up and overcome with an inability to process anything around her. Though, she still cherishes the moments when Leo-san appreciates her efforts in any way. She learns about a new method to improve the quality of the bread from the local baker and when Leo-san compliments her in his usual droll manner, it brings her real happiness, making her feel like the efforts she put in were worth it.
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[Manga Musings on Mondays] A Distant Neighborhood – Review

    Created by: Jiro Taniguchi

    Chapters: 15

     

    Hello and welcome to Manga Musings’ Week 2! This time around, I look back at another series which is a favorite of mine but is not as popular among modern manga fans, Jiro Taniguchi’s opus, Haruka na Machi e or A Distant Neighborhood. Let’s dive in:

     

    THE PREMISE:

    48-year-old Hiroshi Nakahara is mysteriously transported to his 14-year-old-self back when he was in high-school, with the memories of the life he’s lived still intact. He slowly comes to terms with being out-of-time and out-of-place and even starts enjoying being given an opportunity to relive his life once again, only to realize that his actions have consequences on the future in ways beyond his control.

     

         

     
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Arte – 03 [First Job]

 

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the third installment in the story of our favorite noble-turned-apprentice. This week, Arte learns about the warm joys and strange sorrows of first love, gets her first opportunity to draw professionally and throws her hat in for the seasonal Best Boy race! Let’s jump in.

Leo-san asks Arte to come along with him to the carnival but only after she has changed into an adorable Peter Pan cosplay costume. There they meet up with a courtesan – a high-class prostitute – who is somehow able to make the normally ogre-like and demonic Leo-san smile and laugh like he was having the time of his life. Seeing her looking pretty as a picture and smelling all nice, Arte can’t help but fight the feeling which takes over her heart; a feeling of envious approbation.

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