List of female manga-ka

Here is a list of some female manga-ka.  Some of them were surprise to me (either now or were a surprise when I found out in the past) in the shonen category.

I have to say I'd like some additional lists, especially one of male shojo manga-ka writing today.  (I did just finish Otomen 5, so I think that's where this desire comes from.)  I'm sure there'd be some surprises there for me, too. :)

I know when I went to an exhibit on the history of shojo manga, I was surprised to find out that shojo manga was pretty much created by men.  It was really interesting to dig into that history a little and see the why's and how's and also the evolution of shojo as time passed.  I'm a great big nerd in general, so it's all fascinating to me.

Lots of good manga on the YALSA list this year

Hooray!  Another year, another Great Graphic Novels for Teens list from YALSA.  Take a look to see what you've liked along with the fine YALSA folks and get some ideas of good titles you may have missed.


Are there any manga titles on here you disagree with?  Any you really agree with?  Any you think are missing?

Some good decompression manga

Sometimes, you just want to read something that will make you happy without requiring much of you.  Examples that come to mind:

• Aqua/Aria
• Gon
• Yotsuba

Gon seems like it should be the exception here.  It's rated T for violence (and recreational mushroom use in volume 4, which nearly had me needing my inhaler, I was laughing so hard) because it's about the natural world, sort of, so things get killed and eaten with appalling regularity.  Gon is kind of offbeat, anyway.  It's a manga with no words where each chapter has a different cast of animals except for the titular main character Gon.  Everything is drawn meticulously, including the chief anachronism: Gon is a baby T-Rex. 

Gon interacts with (often by bullying) other creatures in sometimes natural, sometimes bizarre ways.  He's a simple creature: give him food and a place to sleep, and he is one happy camper.  Some chapters consist of him searching for food, finding it, and eating it with the hugest look of contentment on his scaly little face. 

In others, he self-importantly bullies other bullies or lesser creatures or whatever he feels like bullying that day.  (I protest at his treatment of those dingoes, but the look in his eye as they turned up their noses at the food he offered them at the end almost made up for it.)  How can so much be portrayed using only the facial expressions of animals?  It's sort of genius.

Sometimes the laughs are unintentional because some of the animals are a bit too reminiscent of Tezuka's, but there is something out-and-out hilarious about the looks the artist draws in the eyes of, say, the fish Gon catches and is about to eat (flashbacks to ZatchBell there :), or the animals dying or having bad trips after the great mushroom march in volume 3.  It's priceless. 

Kudos to CMX for publishing this little gem.  It makes me laugh and cry in a much more free way than I usually can while reading manga.  I shouldn't be this relaxed after reading about the law of the jungle in action or subverted, but something about Gon makes it okay to just read, experience, maybe cry a bit, and move on.



Any favorite decompression manga/anime you have?  The thing you go to read/watch when you've had a bad day and just need to unwind?  Is it a specific genre or just a specific title or two?  Why do you think they have that effect on you?

someone's top 20 animated films

So, here's a list of someone's top 20 animated films.  I love lists because they always cause controversy. 

Have you seen all these?  Are there any that surprised you?  Any you would add or subtract?