Mudai Manga and Book Club

And now, with the unbelievable powers of a dragon, you will have the opportunity to go through the greatest trial humanity has ever created . . . High school! With today's episode, we look at the amazing manga series RuriDragon, an almost entirely non-fantastical series about growing up and dealing with high school, only the main character Ruri turns out to be half dragon. Many series have done similar things, but unlike others RuriDragon remains quite grounded and normal; it's really a high school drama with one person having horns rather than any sort of fantastical series of events, and it's generally positive world, while sometimes a little unbelievable, is an enjoyable read that just hums along. Meanwhile, Louie takes time to talk about what he's read recently with Volume 3 of Baki the Grappler and the ending of Frieren's second season of the anime, while Tom continues into the world of Infinite Dendrogram light novels.
 
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 - Marshmallow
 

Today . . . is an episode. Much of it is us catching up with what we've read (so many we switched back to alternating between us), so come and listen to our thoughts on a whole range of topics, from the beginning several books of Infinite Dendrogram, the end of Chainsaw Man's manga, the newest Witch Hat Atelier manga volume, Wash it All Away, and a whole slew of others. Our main topic, however, ultimately landed on our favorite Ebook site for buying these series, Bookwalker, getting a major update to it's design (ultimately, I believe because the US version is now run by a different company) and user interface and our litany of problems with it. This was recorded a few weeks ago when the site was released, and they are working on improving aspects of it, but it's also not a good design. So, strap in for whatever this is today, because we're back, baby!
 
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
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together
 

There are times to be critical, times to be curious, and times to be objective, but today, we gush about how cool Shangri-La Frontier is, as we return to the series (last covered in episode 11) to go over everything leading up to the massive Weathermon fight, covering books 3 and the first half of 4 (or chapters 16-30 specifically). For a series crammed to the gills with jokes, battles, and entertaining details, we throw a smattering of our favorite things from this section at you in what has been one of our favorite series on the show since we started. In addition, in what we've read, Tom wanders back and forth between comedy and tragedy with series like Solanin and the newest Dungeon Friends Forever, among others.
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 - Experiment
 

Sometimes you have friends to share things with, but sometimes, it's just you and the things you love. And then someone comes along and says, hey, that's cool. That's this week's manga, My Dress-Up Darling by Shinichi Fukuda, plus some extremely long game names and lots of underwear. In a good way . . . well, i guess it usually is, but this comedy of cosplay and dollmaking of two oddballs with lots of respect but poor impulse control is absolutely worth checking out. Meanwhile, in our What We've Read, Tom stumbles through a single Drops of God and rediscovers an old favorite in Blame!, while Louie splits evenly between several manga and anime series, including the new Baki and Frieren animes.
 
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
 

Somtimes, all you need is someone to be close to, and sometimes, they are closer than you think, but don't worry, that giant floating diamond structure in the sky has nothing to do with anything and isn't a portent of any sort of anything. That's why, this week, we're covering the first volume of Jun Mayuzuki's Kowloon Generic Romance, the budding love story of Reiko Kujirai and Hajime Kudou, and that's definitely it. Although, before that, in What We've Read, Tom finally, finally, finally finds some real enjoyment in Drops of God, while Louie skates over into the first few books of Medalist. 
 
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 - Benji
Dark Fantasy Studio - Together

They do move in weekly episodes . . . I mean, this week we get to look at the zookeeper's paleontology lecture that is Dinosaur Sanctuary, volume 1, by Itaru Kinoshita, with special research consultation provided by Shin-ichi Fujiwara. A world where dinosaurs are as normal as a flamingo exhibit at the local zoo, with incredibly good designs and understanding of their (possible) physiology. In addition, in our What We've Read, Louie doubles down on the biology research with Interviews with Monster Girls, while Tom sees a faint glimmer of hope in his continuing alcoholic adventures of Drops of God, now that he reaches the halfway point. All that and more this week on the podcast! . . . Rawr.
 
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
Ovani Sound - Marshmallow

Long title enjoyer or not, this week we review the sewcond light novel in the series An ARchdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, and celebrate two of the best characters in the series making their debut. In addition, during what we've read, Tom further drags himself through the wine series Drops of God, Louie falls into Made in Abyss, and we discuss the unfortunate end and cancellation of Otr and the Flame.
 
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 - Lo-Fi Water
Phat Phrog Studio - Cyber Chill
 

Da-dum! . . . . Can't make a shark week joke though because that's not until later in the year, but we're back this week with an episode covering the true apex predator of the fantasy world, sharks! Louie walks us through the reasonable and sane manga Killer Shark in Another World, volume 1, and Tom does say things and doesn't just giggle the whole time, I promise. As well, in our What We've Read, Louie brings up the first volume of the fascinating series Strange House, while Tom actually explains the series Drops of God as he continues down that long running series. 
 
Note: due to some technical errors, the source file was damaged after editing, and so there aren't chapter markers this week, nor are there any outtakes at the end. We apologize for the inconvenience; please let us know if there are any other issues with the audio. (Update: Chapter markers and other notes have been added, though I'm leaving the note here in case anyone in the future is curious.)
 
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
Phat Phrog Studio - Machines of the Night

Back on double digits, back for a celebration and the start of the new year and so we have  . . . a whole pile of stuff we've watched and read over the last few weeks between holidays and other things so today, instead of some small topics, we're making this whole episode into a long running "What We've Read" sections. Settle in, we've got anime, manga, light novels, regular novels, and even a few TV series to take a few minutes to talk through. Hop around and you're sure to find us talking about something cool worth checking out.
 
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

And with our second special episode to start the year, we come back with a short show on what we plan for the coming year. Due to some things going on it got delayed a bit, but we hope you enjoy our plans for the future of the podcast (more, hopefully some more videos, and more episodes in general). THen, we follow up with some of our own goals for the year, and finally, because we need to make things a game, we each make a few predictions for the year 2026, on games, pop culture, and even, shocking, about manga and light novels. Come hang out for a light hearted talk about this new year.
 
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:
Ovani Sound - Marshmallow
Ovani Sound - Water
Phat Phrog Studios - Echo Nexus