Mudai Manga and Book Club
The Mudai Manga and Book Club podcast explores the stories, comics, and novels coming out of Japan. From the newest Shonen Jump sensation to classics of manga’s early days, from brutal historical action series to fantastical romances to just the dumb fun of goofy Isekai stories and everything and anything in between, join us as we find series new and old to enjoy and explore together.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Episodes

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
After a few . . . lets say delays, we're back with more of frontier living with hornhead and axe man -- I mean, Alna the Onikin and Dias the war hero. Today we cover the second light novel or the third and fourth manga volumes, from farms to dogs to small invasions by hostile military powers! Beyond that, Louie goes light on info about having now finished Tokyo Ghoul: Re as well as more of My Dress Up Darling, while Tom effuses praise about the final volume of Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro and the newest novel of Alya Sometimes Hides her Feelings in Russian. All that and more on today's episode.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Cyber Chill
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together

Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Ok, you know that trope where the rivals from a series have their final battle to the death, and then they both cry and say, "Imagine if we had been on the same side, we could have been . . . friends?" That is the entire premise for The Hero and The Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged, a series with characters so overpowered punching a dragon in the face with their bare hands and knocking it over is them struggling. In addition, Louie has finished Tokyo Ghoul and started into Tokyo Ghoul: Re and gives his initial thoughts, Tom gets back into Banished from the Hero's Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life in the Countryside and definitely remembered that title in full, and both gush, once again, about Otr and the Flame and The Creepy and Freaky.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Ovani Sound - Business
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
And now, as Halloween comes in, we're back with a special Halloween recommendation with our returning special guest Renata! Each of us (Yes, even spooky-disliker Tom) have a series to recommend to you for your horror-enjoyment. Tom starts us off with the manga version of The Ring, Louie brings the well known classic Uzumaki, and Renata brings the newest one with Korean manhua Sweet Home.
Check out Renata's other projects and writing as thanks for coming on again here:
Tumblr: Suzu-kun22
Ao3: luna_moon22
Mercari: suzu-kun22
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Resistance
Phat Phrog Studio - Machines of the Night
Ovani Sound - Lo-Fi Water

Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
And so, the meandering trio of Frieren the Mage, Fern the apprentice mage, and Stark the cowardly warrior (or, cowarrior, if you will), enter into the next city to engage in a spot of brutal combat to the death with a trio of demons acting as a peace envoy and their leader, this arc's titular Aura the Guillotine. Covering chapters 14 to 23 (or middle-ish book 2 to middle-ish book 3), the story takes a different tack as we see what makes Frieren the mage of the Hero's party that slew the Demon Lord. Meanwhile, Louie has started down the path of Tokyo Ghoul, Tom revises some of his thoughts from the previous episode's review of Realist Hero's first book, and they both somehow manage to spoiler free "review" the end of Eden's Zero and it's final volume.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Experiment
Ovani Sound - Umbrella Walk

Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Get ready for your state sponsored census, as we dive into the first volume of How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom light novels (or, alternatively, the first two volumes of the manga). Literally, as Tom walks through the extremely large cast of the first book and the differences and omissions of the manga. In addition, Louie has finally finished Mushoku Tensei and gives his first thoughts on the final novels of that series, while they both take a few moments to talk about the (now slightly out of date) new chapters of Otr and the Flame and The Creepy and Freaky.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Cyber Chill
Ovani Sound - Lo-fi Water

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
We're back, again, with another set of small topics; Louie starts us off with a new guessing game, and Tom definitely . . . answers? Sometimes? Can you name the series from the side characters? Then, Tom leads a discussion of the shonen action battle genre, and the way we think that genre works and the different kinds of series that have pulled that together.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together
Ovani Sound - Business

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
In our never ending quest to bring you unique and original and unknown stories, we decide to go the complete opposite and talk about one of the biggest series of recent years and ever: Demon Slayer, specifically the first two arcs or the first 13 chapters (including all of volume 1 and part of volume 2). While Tom originally wasn't sold on the series, both our hosts now think of the series as an amazing shonen action series worth your time, full of adventure, gorgeous art, and an endearing but darker than normal tone. Meanwhile, Louie has his thoughts on the tenth volume of Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects (the manga) and the second volume of Dungeon Builder: The Demon King's Labyrinth is a Modern City!, while Tom has thoughts about completely separate series Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects volume 10 (the light novel) and the second to eleventh volume of Dungeon Builder: The Demon King's Labyrinth is a Modern City!
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Cyber Chill
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Our small topic episode returns with two of our old segments; Tom returns to the hotseat with the Name That Isekai game, and it goes every which way you could expect. We also have the return of our list series, "7 Amazing Things" this time covering some of our favorite rivalries throughout the world of Japanese pop culture. In addition, between what we've read, Louie continues to complete the later novels in Mushoku Tensei while Tom revisits one of his old favorites, reads a little known series called Demon Slayer, and more, in this episode of the Mudai Manga Book Club podcast.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Ovani Sound - Water
Phat Phrog Studio - Machines of the Night
Ovani Sound - Business

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
And so, born on opposite sides of the equinox, in a specific village in the mountains of Japan, Yuru and his sister Asa get to have one of the most powerful abilities: Isekai time travel . . . oh, wait, no, that's not what happens. This week, we cover the secretive world of Daemons of the Shadow Realm by Hiromu Arakawa in it's first two volumes. There will be battles. There will be danger. There will be a multi page mini story of Yuru showing he understands how to use a modern bathroom.
In addition, Louie introduces us to two new series he's picked up in Dungeon Builder: The Demon King's Labyrinth is a Modern City! and A Cave King's Road to Paradise: Climbing to the Top With My Almighty Mining Skills, who's titles alone take up this entire sentence but are also actually interesting. Tom, meanwhile, made a small mistake and read the entire series of Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill (novels 4-15) in a week, which, while good, may have ruined his ability to have coherent thoughts. All this, and more, on this episode of the Mudai Manga & Book Club Podcast.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Phat Phrog Studio - Resistance
Ovani Sound - Umbrella Walk

Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
No, really, lock in, bro. (Unfortunately the part of the recording where we made this joke for five straight minutes got lost). Renata joins us again for another episode, and we take a wide angled view at the beginning of Kagurabachi, the story of a son wanting revenge on his father's murderers in Japan, but using a katana. How original. But also fun! Renata also talks through a couple of her other favorite reads from recent memory, including Marriage Toxin and The Summer Hikaru Died.
Also, apologies, there was a serious audio issue with a large portion of the episode, so that part of the recording was lost and the conversation ends somewhat in the middle of things.
Follow us on Bluesky at The Mudai Manga and Book Club Podcast
Video Episodes Available on Youtube at Mudai Manga and Book Club
Email us at: MudaiMangaBookClub at Gmail.com
Main Theme: Sunrise by Meizong & Yeeflex
Music provided by Argofox:Meizong & Yeeflex - Sunriseyoutu.be/-GurRvqxg3I
Additional Music:
Phat Phrog Studio - Echo Nexus
Ovani Sound - Lofi Water
Phat Phrog Studio - Machines of the Night






