2013 may be nearing its end, but there’s still time for one more manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga before the year is over! For December’s giveaway, you all have a chance to win a copy of the Yen Press omnibus edition of Kiyohiko Azuma’s yonkoma manga Azumanga Daioh. The entire series collected in one convenient volume! As always, the giveaway is open worldwide.
If I recall correctly, Azumanga Daioh was the first yonkoma manga that I ever read. Yonkoma, or 4-koma, is a four-panel format frequently used for gag manga. I know several people who consider Azumanga Daioh to be one of the best examples of yonkoma manga currently available in English. Yonkoma tends to be fairly hit-or-miss for me, but I was consistently entertained by Azumanga Daioh—it’s a goofy yet charming series.
So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of the Azumanga Daioh omnibus?
1) In the comments below, tell me a little about a four-panel manga that you have read and why you did, or didn’t, like it. (Haven’t read any? You can simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).
And there you have it! Each person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. As usual, there will be one week to submit comments. Entries may also be sent via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com and I will post them in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on January 1, 2014. Good luck and a Happy New Year, everyone!
VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.
Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: 4-Koma for You Winner
I really liked the Azumanga anime (enough to buy the original Japanese sets) but I haven’t had the chance to read the manga (nor buy the “remastered” Japanese sets).
In general I don’t read 4-koma manga, seems more like a miss than hit for me but I have to admit I really like Dekoboko Girlish. It’s basically two college girls, one is tall and gets mistaken for a guy, the other one is short and looks like a kid. Oh who am I kidding, I read it cause it has a tomboy, lol.
P.S. Retweeted
Even though I haven’t read a lot of yonkoma, I really appreciate four-panels that mangakas put at the end of a released volume – it can be funnier than if the manga was just that type of a comic book, considering you have more knowledge about the characters or the story. The recent example of such thing in my case would be the first volume of Silver Spoon, it shines right there!
The only 4-Koma manga I’ve “read” is Maison de Penguin. I’m sure no one has heard of it, but it’s a little known 4-Koma manga that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump back in the mid 2000’s. Even though I can’t read Japanese, I own all the volumes of it. It’s super simple to follow and some of the stories are extremely funny. It’s basically just the random little adventures of the many different people that live in a certain apartment building, which has a Penguin that lives there.
Also, I only recently stumbled upon your website, but I’ve read a lot of your work and it’s great. Keep it up, and happy holidays!
Thank you for the kind words and thank you for visiting! ^_^
The only yonkoma I’m really familiar with at all are the end of a chapter pieces in Genshiken. In that case, I thought they made for entertaining asides to the main story, but they came across as almost after-thoughts. I’d be interested to see where that was the focus, and the format itself was more deliberately utilized.
I’m pretty sure haven’t read 4-panel manga though if it was good I’m sure I’d like it.
I always give all things a chance.
Twetted: https://twitter.com/BookLoverC/status/416019606793240576
The only 4-koma manga that I have read is the first volume of K-ON!, which I borrowed from the library. I recall being mostly indifferent to the contents, but wondered what it would be like if the same story was told in a conventional, full-page style instead of the 4 small panels.
https://twitter.com/MatthewCycyk/status/416172090224431106
My favorite 4-koma series is Lucky Star. I am the proud owner of volumes 3-4 and 6-7. It’s amazing how such a small strip can capture such humorous moments perfectly.
For instance, I love Episode 89: Daily Fun (the strongest character), in which Miyuki quiets the rowdy class by saying “I feel that is an excellent mental attitude. Therefore, I will now entertain opinions regarding the subject from all of you!”, in a sweet yet disturbing way that cows everyone; we don’t see anymore of that incident, but that small snapshot is perfect. Likewise, the last strip of episode 212 just shows voiceless snapshots of the cast doing karaoke, but the images seem so alive and real.
I used to love reading Peanuts, FoxTrot, and Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, and was disappointed when I reached the end of them. Then I stumbled on Lucky Star, and realized that there were more fun comics to read from Japan. I had read manga before, but the four panel style reignited my childhood passion for the Funnies.
K-On! is a cute 4-koma about a group of high school girls (I know, how original) who are members of the pop music club. Has the typical roundup of eccentric characters, but isn’t as over-the-top as some other manga.
1. Well, To be honest I haven’t read any 4-Koma manga before, But I’m actually planning to read the 4-koma manga Lucky Star since I just finished watching the anime recently. But I’d also love to give other 4-koma manga a try! especially this one :>
2. https://twitter.com/Gazerock_yumii/status/416739098783518720
Only 4-koma manga that I have read is Kill Me Baby. I read it online, if in distant future some publishing company make it in english I will buy it. Kill Me Baby anime was aired last year I think.
https://twitter.com/kokcej/status/416902025066995712
Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is my favorite 4 koma. Granted, I haven’t read many that aren’t just one off page fillers for regularly formatted manga, but Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is cute in a melancholic way. I’m really interested to discover the mysteries behind all of the characters.
I’m pretty sure Palepoli counts as 4-koma even though it is super different than most in the genre. Several pages from that were printed in an anthology I own (Secret Comics? Something like that), and I think that’s the only English-licensed 4-koma I’ve read (other than the short gags that are sometimes included in the back of regular-format manga).
:3
Oh man, what a question! I’m a bit of a fan of Oishi Koji’s Maison du Penguin, which… It was odd, and not really that funny at first, but it was interesting to pay attention to. See, its serialisation was always as the fifth comic in Weekly Shonen Jump for its entire life, regardless of ratings. It became its own in-joke, with series like Gin Tama making jokes about it, saying stuff like “the only thing no-one can predict is when Maison du Penguin will end” (paraphrasing but still). As for the comic itself, it really depended on the characters used, but just about any chapter with the young girl Tsukimi. (side-note super pleased to see someone else has mentioned it, as it is one of the more obscure jump titles, having avoided fan-translations)
Second mention has to go out to the Wind Waker Treasure Log 4-koma, which might be the only truly enjoyable Zelda comic I’ve ever read. Pure joy, and totally manages to stay in keeping with the lighter moments of the game.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Maxy_Barnard/status/417281817721315328
Admittedly, I haven’t read a ton of 4-koma in English…I don’t think there’s a lot translated out there, is there? (A missed opportunity!) A few years back, Dark Horse released a stand-alone vol. of Oh My Goddess! that was just Kosuke Fujishima’s “mini-Goddesses” 4-koma and I actually love it a lot (I still have it!) It’s ridiculous and cute, especially if you’re already a fan of OMG! to begin with. It’s out of print, but not terribly hard to find, I think.
RT’ed about the contest on my Twitter account! :D
I haven’t read very many 4-koma… but of what I have read, my favorite is Hetalia: Axis Powers. Maybe it’s because it started off as a webcomic, but the 4-koma format fits the series really well.
I haven’t read any 4-Koma yet as I’m new to Manga in general!