Reading The Wrong Way

It's that time of the year once again! It's Ito-ber! More of a joke than anything else, we decided a year ago that we'd read a Junji Ito series each October. This is Bea's choice once again, and she went with Tomie. That choice isn't really a surprise either, as we mentioned wanting to read it last year when we covered Uzumaki. It was a fun read though, and we managed to get in lots of talk regarding the Tomie franchise in general. For example, did you know that there are nearly ten movies based on it? This was a crazy episode, and it's a little sad that it'll be the last full manga-centric episode for the foreseeable future. We have one more episode planned where we examine all of the series that we've read so far, but that pretty much ends the first season of Reading The Wrong Way. We still plan to come back some day, but think of these seasons like Netflix ones, as in don't expect season two for another couple years at least. That's talk for later though, back to Tomie! We had a lot to say regarding this one, and we'd love to hear your views on the series too. Check it out, and as always, keep reading the wrong way!

It's a big month here at Reading The Wrong Way, as we're reading one of the most important manga series to ever release in English! It was Manuel's choice this time around, and he picked Masamune Shirow's Ghost In The Shell. While one can argue that the manga series is barely a footnote in history, it would inspire the 1996 animated movie that would influence countless other works. It would also spawn sequels and follow-ups in other media, and it's something that we knew that we'd have to check out at some point in this series. We had a lot to say regarding this one, and decided to tackle it in a much broader way. We'll leave it up for listeners to learn what our views on the series are, but we're also interested to learn what you all think of it too. Be sure to let us know, and also keep an eye out for next month's episode where we'll be taking a look at Tomie! Tomie will also mark the end of "Season One" of this show, and we'll be taking a bit of a hiatus afterwards. More on that later though! As always, Keep reading the wrong way!

We're nearing the tail end of Summer, but the blockbusters aren't done! Following up on the superhero boom, we have this month's manga: Earthchild. This three volume series originally ran in Weekly Shonen Jump, and it was J.D.'s pick. Bea was supposed to be on the episode too, but had to drop out last minute. That means you get just Manuel and J.D., but there was a lot to talk about this time around even though the manga doesn't exactly have the most intense storyline. We'll leave it up for listeners to learn what our views on the series are, but we're also interested to learn what you all think of it too. Be sure to let us know, and also keep an eye out for next month's episode where we'll be taking a look at Ghost In The Shell! As always, Keep reading the wrong way!

Summer is in full swing, and we're back to reading full manga series once again. This time around it was Bea's choice, and she went with Dementia 21, the English-language debut from eccentric artist/manga writer, Shintaro Kago. It was quite the episode, and we had a lot to say about both the content found within the two volumes of the series, and Mr. Kago himself. It's definitely different from anything we've read before, and we hope that you'll go on this strange journey with us! If you've read Dementia 21 yourself, please let us know your thoughts on the series, as we'd love to hear other takes on this work. As always, Keep reading the wrong way!

Manuel is back, and we have a special episode this time around! Rather than look at an entire series, we took a look at the first volume of a manga that is getting an anime adaptation this summer. Manuel chose The Shy Hero and the Assassin Princesses by Norishiro-chan & Yukiji Setsuda, Bea chose The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren, and J.D. chose Gachiakuta by Kei Urana. It's quite the varied collection of manga, and we had a lot to say about all of them! (Well, maybe not for The Shy Hero and the Assassin Princesses....) is the second half to our first ever two-part episode! This was a fun change, and we look forward to checking out the anime adaptations when they release. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on these series, and what anime adaptations you're looking forward to this summer. As always, Keep reading the wrong way!

Here is the second half to our first ever two-part episode! We recommend you check out the first half before listening to this one, but this is the conclusion of J.D., Rose, and Ruby's look at CLAMP's Toyko Babylon. This episode covers the final four volumes, and thus ends the longest series we've looked at so far. Manuel is still missing from this one, but he will be back for the June Summer Special! That's for later though, for now, be sure to let us know your thoughts on Tokyo Babylon, and how they compared to ours. As always, Keep reading the wrong way!

J.D. may have recently returned, but it's now Manuel's time to take a break. This month sees the return of Ruby as a guest host on this special two-part episode. This month's choice was made by J.D., and it's CLAMP's classic series Tokyo Babylon! This is the longest series we've looked at so far at seven volumes, so we decided to split the talk into two episodes. This is the first half that covers the first three volumes, and the second one will be out in just a couple weeks. Manuel will still be missing from that one, but the trio will return for our special Summer Sampler episode in June! As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts, and keep reading the wrong way!

J.D. is back from Japan, and we are (hopefully) back to our normally scheduled episodes! This month's choice was made by Manuel, and it's something of a nostalgic one. Princess Ai is arguably one of the first attempts to produce an original collaborative manga for both the US and Japanese market. Written by Misaho Kujiradou (who also did the art) and DJ Milky (AKA TOKYOPOP's Stuart Levy), and featuring input from alternative rock star Courtney Love and manga artist Ai Yazawa, it was originally released from 2004 to 2006. It turned out to be a very odd series, whose legacy has been mostly forgotten. The nostalgia itch was scratched though, and we had a lot to say about this one. Seeing as all the hosts missed this one during its original release, we'd love to hear from anyone who has fond memories of it. Let us know your thoughts, and keep reading the wrong way!Princess Ai MV Playlist:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmHlSR6w4xA&list=PLH2hK5IZ1Q6sHZteaFN8jBjcc6ybotFCY

While J.D. is away, the mice will play! J.D. is in Japan, so that means Manuel and Bea are running the show this month! Not only is this the first J.D.-less episode, it's also the first that features a special guest! Last month Ruby suggested we take a look at Moto Hagio's 1975 four chapter series, They Were Eleven, and she's here to talk about it with us here. Not only is this series great in its own right, but it was also one of the very first shoujo series to ever be published in English. It's a sci-fi classic that predates just about all the other classics of the genre. It also tackles topics that feel just as important today, as they were 50 years ago. We'd love to hear what your take on the series is, so be sure to let us know. Check it out, and keep reading the wrong way!Also, here is the interview that Bea mentioned towards the end:https://blcriticalstudies.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/a-conversation-between-moto-hagio-hideaki-anno-and-shimako-sato/

We're back with our fourth episode, and this is the first one of the new year! This time around Bea, JD, and Manuel take a look at Tekkonkinkreet, a manga with a title that we had trouble with ever since Bea suggested it. It's written and illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto, and is also known as Black & White. It's quite different from most of the other titles we've looked at so far, and this is probably the first time where our views on the work varied greatly. Be sure to let us know where you lie on this one, as we never really came to a consensus by the end. Check it out, and keep reading the wrong way!

We're back with our third episode, and this one arrives just in time for the holidays! This time around Bea, JD, and Manuel take a look at Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, a manga series brought to us by Reiji Saigaand Sora Inoue. This may be a title that isn't discussed much today, but there was a time when TokyoPop put all their marketing push behind it. Since Manuel was there at the time, it makes sense that this was his choice. This was a bit longer of a series at six volumes, so the episode has a slightly longer runtime too. Not only do we discuss and examine the series, but we also discuss the never made live action adaptation! Check it out, and keep reading the wrong way!

A-to-J is celebrating its 10th Anniversary, so we played around with the release of our second episode a bit. This time around Bea, JD, and Manuel take a look at Tenmaku Cinema, a manga series brought to us by Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki, the team behind Food Wars. It was something of a failure during its original run in Shonen Jump, but we had a lot to talk about regarding this one. Not only do we examine the series, but we also reminiscence about our lives a bit as well! Check it out, and keep reading the wrong way!

It's time for the actual first episode of A-to-J Connections' newest podcast to debut, and it happened to arrive just in time for the spooky month! This time around Bea, JD, and Manuel take a look at what many consider Junji Ito's manga opus: Uzumaki! We examine the series, and discuss the two adaptations briefly as well! Check it out, and keep reading the wrong way!

This is the premier episode of A-to-J Connections' newest monthly podcast, Reading The Wrong Way. This time around, Bea, JD, and Manuel take a look at the classic CLAMP manga, Magic Knight Rayearth.