To read blog postings, click the image below.  

Rachel’s been filling out some of the series we don’t have as many volumes of this month, or completing others! For your reading pleasure this August, we offer: Nightschool: the Weirn Books volume 3, by Svetlana Chmkova. Karakuridoji Ultimo volume 4, by Hiroyuki Takei (based on the idea by Stan Lee). Arisa volume 2, by [...]

While we’re on the subject of otaku, let’s dip into a discussion of their also-oft-denigrated cousins, the NEETs. “NEET” is a Japanese acronym for “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” (yep, it’s Japanese, even though it’s in English), and is basically a way of saying someone is a jobless bum. It is not a kind [...]

So if Lucky Star is in the upper echelons of Japanese culture-based manga and requires leveling up to fully enjoy, Genshiken would be the final boss battle. Genshiken is a comedy-with-some-romance series set in early 2000s Tokyo. It’s the story of a college club composed of otaku. (The word “otaku” is mainly used by U.S. speakers to refer to [...]