Over the last few years, I’ve made an effort to track down podcasts that feature manga. I haven’t found that many that focus on manga exclusively, but there are anime and comics podcasts that address manga at least on occasion. A few months ago I posted Discovering Manga: Podcasts Redux which was a quick update and overview of podcasts that I had discovered and written about in the past. The post also included a list of podcasts that I was aware of but hadn’t written about yet. And so, as promised, here is a quick look at a few of the podcasts from that list, all of which happen to have started in 2013.
The first episode of the Manga Dome Podcast was released in April 2013. The podcast generally updates weekly around Sunday and is the work of Lori Henderson of Manga Xanadu, a manga blog that I’ve been following for a few years now. The blog has written posts as well, but nowadays the focus seems to be on the podcast. Generally, Manga Dome is a one-person show although recently the podcast had its first guest. Each episode is around ten minutes or so in length and features news, reviews, and other commentary. As might be implied by its name, the focus of Manga Dome is on manga. Lori knows her own taste in manga quite well but is still willing to try manga that might be out of her comfort zone. She doesn’t tend to enjoy manga with heavy ecchi elements, nor is she a particular fan of horror and gore. Shoujo, mysteries, and fantasy are more to her liking. What I probably appreciate most about Manga Dome is Lori’s emphasis on digital manga. It’s nice to be able to get a quick rundown on the digital landscape as well as other manga news.
Another podcast devoted to manga is the Weekly Shonen Jump Podcast which started in May 2013. This podcast is put together by a crew of manga editors and others who work for Viz Media. It provides an insider’s look into Viz’s digital Weekly Shonen Jump and includes a recap of the most recent issue. Released on Mondays, each episode is around an hour in length and generally follows the same format, starting out with introductions (which is handy as different people participate each week), followed by news, the Weekly Shonen Jump review, and ending with questions from listeners (gathered from the show comments, Twitter, Facebook, and surveys.) Although the focus of the Weekly Shonen Jump podcast is on Weekly Shonen Jump, it’s also about manga in general. I particularly like listening to the Weeekly Shonen Jump podcast to learn more about the publishing side of the manga industry, but everyone participating are fans as well. Since there is a group involved the podcast’s style tends to be somewhat conversational, which I enjoy.
As part of August 2013’s 801 Manga Moveable Feast, Otaku Champloo’s Khursten Santos invited two of her fellow fujoshi to talk with her about boys’ love manga. It went over very well and she had so much fun that the Fujojocast was born. Fujojocast doesn’t have a set schedule and there have only been three episodes so far, all over an hour in length. Despite some sound and microphone issues, I’ve enjoyed them all. Fujojocast features fans, translators, and academics from all over the world who share an unabashed love for boys’ love. I appreciate the women’s enthusiasm and intelligent conversation immensely. As the host, Khursten sets the episodes’ themes and leads and organizes the discussions. Fujojocast isn’t always about manga specifically, and it’s not always strictly about boys’ love, either. Other topics discussed include anime (the second episode is all about Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club, for example), conventions, merchandise, shipping, and general fujoshi fandom. I’m definitely looking forward to future episodes, whenever they might come out.
As much as I hate self-promotion, I feel I should mention that our Beamcast over at Shonen Beam (http://shonenbeam.com) is a (shonen) manga-exclusive podcast, in case you hadn’t found it.
Excellent, thank you! I’ll be sure to check it out for a future post. :)