Thanks to the ease of accessibility,
almost every new anime nowadays is being watched by someone somewhere.
And even if a great show largely slips under the radar.
There'll always be a small but very vocal group that give these shows a bit of attention after everything is said and done.
With manga on the other hand,
there's such a vast pool of titles that even for those way more involved in the community,
it's a lot easier to pick up this random hidden gem that you've never heard anyone talking about.
So with this in mind and my newest partnership with Book Walker,
I though it'd be fun to test out their selection and find five random titles I hadn't read before that I found really fun.
Both famous manga I heard of previously and some I had no idea about going into it.
Everything here is available on Book Walker in eBook format.
All links are in the description.
So if anything catches your interest you can use coupon code: Gigguk to get a discount on your first purchase.
No, this video is not directly sponsored by them.
But for everyone of you that uses that coupon code does help me out.
Just to be transparent.
So with that out of the way,
let's jump right into it.
It's always very fulfilling and satisfying to see characters get what they deserve
and man, does Kakegurui do this to an almost self gratifying point.
I've always had a soft spot for underdogs story as the
But the feeling is especially sweet when you couple this with overly egotistical characters
just waiting to be take down a peg.
Kakegurui details an OG like transfer student named Jabami Yumeko
entering a school focused entirely on gambling.
Students live and die by gambling here.
And teachers are apparently a-fucking-okay with this.
Culminating in a hierarchy system completely controlled by the student council.
The worth is determined by how much money you can obtain.
The wealthy sit at the top enjoying the high life, with those in debt being at the bottom become the school's dog.
Later having their lives sold for your marrige,
child-birthing,
jobs etc.
You know, all that standard human slavery shit you see all the time in highschool.
This is where our main lead comes in.
As you probably guessed, what makes Kakegurui such an addictive read
is watching Yumeko rise to the system,
and effortlessly beating down powerful foes with seemingly simple observations.
It's her ability to be able to see through her opponents and instantly perceive a situation
and use their own system against them that is just so satisfying.
Using a mix of psychological manipulation and cunning to gain the upper hand.
It has a very similar appeal to shows like:
No Game No Life
and Kaiji
with the character rising up the ranks by betting on a series of games.
But what sets it apart is our lead girl.
She's both compelling
and also kind of disturbing.
Initially coming off as an innocent naive girl incorporated into this sadistic messed-up school system.
You slowly come to realise that behind her calm demeanour,
she is as terrifying,
or even more so than the people she takes down.
It's one of those series that's just such an easy read
and you'll find yourself consuming more and more chapters just to see who she'll take down next
and how she does it.
With the student council members having a wide mix of chaotic and crazy personalities just waiting to be taken off their high horse.
All this not mentioning the art, which is also pretty great.
Having said all this, there is also an anime adaption coming soon in the summer,
but even so this is definitely worth the read before that,
as once you pick it up, you'll find it very hard to put down.
(♫: Phoenix Wright - Pursuit [Orchestra Arrangements])
I'm sure one point in our lives we all felt we were born for something more that what we are doing now.
To be stronger.
To have more wealth.
To be more popular.
However, we rarely get the chance to feel what we've obtained what was needed to be the perfect place in our lives.
So from the creator of Gantz,
comes Inuyashiki.
Which shows us what would happen if two people were to obtain the power to complete what they perceive is the perfect life.
Is it a life where you protect happiness by saving the populace?
Or by gaining power and instead causing unhappiness?
Our lead Inuyashiki is your average salary man nobody.
Stuck with a disrespectful family,
a dead-end job,
a disease that makes him look older than he is.
And just to make things slightly better,
he's just been diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Yup, it's just your typically average depressing reflection on life.
Until one day he is suddenly hit by a shinning light
that transforms him into a robot-like being
who's able to fly, shoot bullets, and heal people.
Yeah, I know, okay. Just stick with me here.
Given these godlike powers and believing this is a chance to give justice and goodness to the world,
he begins his sudden new life as
Becoming his own super-powered vigilante
and writing the injustices he sees in the world.
Alright, that does sound a bit stupid when I say it out loud.
Unbeknownst to him though, he isn't the only one who got hit by this light.
As a teenager was also given the same abilities.
Instead of sing his powers for justice though,
the kid uses it to create injustices in the world.
Killing anyone for fun, starting by going into people's home and massacring their entire family.
Neither are aware initially of each other's existence.
And it's the parallel between both their stories that makes it work.
It's a gruesome tale of superheros and supervillains.
The darkest aspects of the human nature.
And the reason this manga is so good isn't just because of the addictive stories of Inuyashiki's path of justice,
and Shishigami's terrible triad of injustice.
But because it isn't nearly as black and white as just a battle between good and evil.
Anyone familiar with Gantz will know that Hiroya Oku is not one to shy away from horrific and disturbing human acts.
And Inuyashiki is definitely no exception to this.
While our lead is meant to be the symbol of justice,
as he encounters more detestable humans,
the brand of justice he serves becomes increasingly harsh.
From beating down thugs
to mass eye gouging.
And it's certainly not something you'd see in a family friendly superhero movie.
The kid on the other hand, who initially was portrayed as a sociopathic serial killer,
is shown to have a shred of sympathy in the odd moments.
If you're a fan of the Gantz manga, this will probably be right up your alley.
As aside from the violence,
Oku manages to bring over his beautiful, almost stylised realism art.
With really shines in not only the action scenes, but also the almost grotesque body-morphing.
And hey, there's just something quite cathartic about seeing a frail elderly looking man,
laying the smack down on a bunch of thugs and Yakuzas.
This is not one for the faint of heart but for those of you that can handle it,
Inuyashiki is definitely worth a read.
Let's be honest here.
Most of us know fuck-all about wine.
If we're ever in a situation in a restaurant where we have to pick one,
the basic process involves scanning through this menu of fancy gibberish,
only to focus entirely on price.
Having a waiter give you a small sample where you give it a whiff and a twirl,
even though everyone around you knows that you look like a pompous dickhead who has no idea what they're doing.
And last of all you have that one sweet sip to discern that yes,
what you actually tasted was in fact wine.
Was it good wine?
Who the fuck knows?
We all think the entire thing was a bullshit act people do to look smart.
You know who you fucking are.
But the magic of a manga like Drops of God is that you can make the entire process not only compelling,
but also appreciative of everything that goes into it.
Shizuku Kanzaki is the son of one of the most famous wine critics in the world,
who also happens to fucking hate wine.
Being forcefully taught to hone his sense of taste and smell from a young age,
his loathe of wine his entire life, even though he's never tasted it.
That is until he learns about his father's death.
Being being the difficult git his father is in death,
his will states that he'll only give away his million dollars worth of wine away to the person
that can correctly name what he has identified as the thirteen best wines in the world.
With the very best being known as the drops of god.
Just to spice things up,
Shizuku needs to compete with his newly adopted wine genius brother in law over who can do this first.
And is thus thrust into a world of wine
where he has to use his natural skill beaten into him as kid to overcome this pretentious twat trying to steal his family legacy.
Through the journey our lead takes getting over his hatred of wine
and learning to forgive and wanting to closer to his now deceased father.
You end up learning way more about wine you initially could have imagine in a way that is incredibly entertaining.
Finding out the variety of taste a wine can give.
How a cheap wine can surpass even the most expensive if you're know what you're looking for.
And how truly hard it is to become a professional in the world of wine.
It gave me an understanding that it's not just about wealthy snooty people
trying to show off their wealthy snooty knowledge.
But it's about a drink that invokes feeling that non-else can where you can just the time to taste and truly appreciate it.
The way that it describes the feeling of choosing the right wine sounds really magical.
Like listening to the perfect song
or appreciating a beautiful painting.
We end up learning all this through Shizuku's eyes.
And the real beauty is that we see his growth as a character
as he not only learns more about wine
but also about himself with the wines that really connect and say something to him.
Of course all this builds up to the most exciting showdowns.
And my favourite moments are when the times where the characters were competing to choose the right wine.
Where all the knowledge the manga throws at us comes into use at the most satisfying way.
This mix of competition, character growth, and actual knowledge and appreciation of wine
is what makes Drops of God a real surprise to me.
As I never thought a manga about wine could grip me as much as it did.
And maybe you'll come out a bit like me thinking:
Wow,
I guess wine can do more than give me a banging headache in the morning.
We live in a time when social media plays an integral part of modern scoiety
as terrifying or optimistic as it sounds.
Our world where we're all competing for the retweet or share button.
Lives are broadcasted with an enriched filter on them.
And snarky opinions about anime and more are aired out in public for all to see.
(You can follow me on Twitter @GiggukAZ)
It's essentially one massive game that we are all playing where you are your own avatars
with all sorts of players out there.
So what happens if we take all these elements and put it into a game of actual stakes behind it?
Well then you get Real Account.
Real Account is a new social media trend to sweep the nation.
In a hypothetical world where Facebook became uncool when grandma started using it,
Youtube became a family friendly exclusive safe space,
Twitter was a toxic cesspool of public opinion,
and everyone else got bored of seeing people putting Instagram filters on their lives.
This is all turn on their head however, when thousands of users are suddenly sucked into the world of Real Account.
Where users have to complete a series of games to escape.
The twist is however,
If you lose all your followers, then you die.
But you fail a game, you also die
and so does everyone that follows you.
Haha that's right you guys are fUcKeD.
The premises you stand a death game tournament you see in a lot in anime.
But the real thing that makes it interesting is how it touches on subjects that are very relevant today.
And puts a creative spin that puts things into an entirely different perspective.
The exaggerated view of the importance of followers on our social medias gives us a false sense of self-worth.
But how much does that really matter in the grand scheme of things?
Real Account doesn't touch on that subject
but also creates a great satirical view of how we approach our online persona.
Each death game is themed around a different part of our collective online behaviour.
Whether it'd be about those who seek attention or how we judge people in a surface level.
And makes you think about behaviour which never really passes your mind that people do on a daily basis online.
How close are we actually to someone just because we're friends with them on Facebook?
How much do you really know about a person when their lives are put through a glorified filter?
Do you change your behaviour just because you gained some anonymity through the web?
Or how about a game where your life literally hangs in the balance of making a post that can get certain like to dislike ratio?
It's a fascinating read because we've all played or seen people play these games before.
Though of course we never really thought about them as games.
We're just the way that people acted for the instant gratification of receiving a like or favourite and how cheap that actually is.
Which is why for this video
WE SHOULD AIM FOR 20,000 LIKES ON THIS VIDEO!
LIKE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!
I will say right now that I did not enjoy the last arc of the manga nearly as much as the rest of it.
But it was definitely a fun ride overall
and an easy recommendation for anyone who's been a part of this social media game
which I assume you already are, watching this on a video sharing platform.
It's a very interesting commentary for this thing that you've played an active part in,
presented in a simple death tournament format
that's fun, easy to follow, and everyone is familiar with.
So if that sounds interesting to you,
then it's definitely worth reading through a bit of this.
It's remarkably hard to find some form of media that you know will become a classic that was made within your lifetime.
And even harder to find one that can be well liked by just about everyone who decides to view it.
Vinland Saga, is one of those very things.
Now I know this is not exactly a new recommendation by any means, for those of you familiar with manga.
But for many of you who have never delved into this world,
I can wholeheartedly say that this is one of the greatest manga of all time to never get an anime adaptation.
It's a bloody tale of revenge and a historic epic reminiscent of titles like Berserk and Vagabond.
The setting is 1013 England, in the brutal time of the Vikings.
Thorfinn is a skilled young Viking
who witnessed the death of his father by the hands of Askeladd, the leader of a mercenary group.
As just a young boy driven by pure hatred and a desire for revenge,
he joins the very mercenary group who murdered his father
in hopes of one day defeating and killing Askeladd in a one-on-one duel.
Though while that is just the basic premise, there is absolutely no way I can cover the amounts of layers contained here in just a short recommendation.
Thorfinn's path of revenge is a saga sprawling with violence, redemption, and the meaning of being a warrior.
One thing that really stands out early on is the dynamic that Thorfinn shares with our antagonist.
Askeladd maybe the villain who killed Thorfinn's father to trigger these events,
but he's also the closest thing to Thorfinn's mentor
who raised him to be the skilled warrior he ended up being
and is able to manipulate all the anger and hatred to keep him under control.
Binding him to this web of tension and violence.
These are just two characters in a very rich and diverse cast.
And the series is filled with deep and complex relationships such as this
that rally grips you and builds on this epic tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
If there is one reason this manga might not be for you
is that it's unforgivingly brutal not only in presentation
but also in theme and tone.
Morality is not something that is black and white
and a major theme is the ambiguous line between what is right and wrong.
Casting a shadow over every action our characters take in a malevolent world drenched in blood.
Nothing here is romanticised.
And the atrocities that occur feel soaked in an air of realism.
You witness the viciousness of war and toils it has not only on our Viking main characters,
but also on innocent people who just wished to survive.
But is this brutality that adds a real depth to the story and characters.
It's not the kind of violence that feels gratuitous or edgy.
It's heavy.
Ruthless like the story itself.
And often times you can finish a chapter feeling exhausted and drained.
Of course I cannot mention this manga without talking about the spectacular art.
It's extremely brutal and gory but it's true and very realistically.
And it has incredible attention to detail.
Some of the panels are absolutely breathtaking.
Detailing landscapes with the devastation of battles fought or sometimes it's a village or field.
Whatever the case is, definitely some of the best art of the world of manga has to offer.
This title is an absolute classic in the manga world and for good reasons.
It's rare that you get to see a manga so well crafted in every aspect
and there's no way I can do the series justice without a full video on it.
So if you haven't done so already,
you owe it to yourself to read this masterpiece because it'll be a decision that you'll not regret.
And that's everything I wanted to mention in this one video.
If anything sounds like something you'd want to check out,
they are all available on Book Walker in the links in the description.
Use coupon code: Gigguk for a discount on your first purchase even if you're just buying the first volume to check things out.
It'll help me out for everyone of you who does and also the industry too
as everything here is 100% legal.
And now that me and Alain have spent the last week and a half editing this video and are both at on the verge of insanity,
I think it's time for a little treat.
OH SHIT DO YOU SEE THAT?
THAT'S COLOUR!
OH GOD I ALMOST FORGOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE!
(♫: Iron Maiden - Dreams of Mirrors)
Hey guys hope you enjoyed that video.
Thank you very much this month to
and everyone else on Patron for helping to support me for this month.
So this video was actually meant to be done last week
since I thought it would be a quick and easy video.
But who knew that making a manga video will take 2 people editing this all day every day
until their sanity is almost gone to get this video out a week late.
Yeah this took way longer than we anticipated
so if you do end up using the coupon for Book Walker,
we- we definitely appreciate it.
(Just a little bit.)
But at the end of the day we hope you enjoyed how the final video looked.
I'll also be at MCM London next week, so anyone there be on the lookout.
I'll probably be setting up a meetup on this channel someday
so be on the lookout for that as well.
Anyway that's it from me,
I've been Gigguk and I will see you all next time.