Jacob Parker-Dalton

otaquest.com — Even before The Elusive Samurai volume 1 came out, it was pretty clear that sales of Yusei Matsui's latest series were going to be pretty good. It got possibly the fastest Weekly Shonen Jump cover ever just fifteen chapters after its debut, while back-to-back releases of the first two volumes in July and August showed that SHUEISHA wanted to capitalize upon this early momentum.

otaquest.com — How do you separate art from the artist? Is it by erecting an arbitrary wall, or do you simply accept the fact that an author's own life experiences always shape the kind of stories they create? For that matter, how do you separate fact from fiction when almost every piece of media is influenced by the environment that it finds itself in?

otaquest.com — It's hard to put into words just how monumental the first volume of VIZ Media's new Fist of the North Star release feels. Despite the series' enduring influence, it has remained a massive manga black hole for many years because of some spotty releases. VIZ actually had the license back in the late 80s, while Gutsoon!

otaquest.com — When SSSS.DYNAZENON was first announced, there were dangers of it simply being more of the same. Sure, SSSS.GRIDMAN was bloody brilliant, but could lightning strike twice for Studio TRIGGER and Tsuburaya Productions? Would simply repeating the same concept give birth to the same results?

otaquest.com — The news of Kiryu Coco's graduation has come as a huge blow to hololive and its fan community. Upon the announcement on 8 June, social media was immediately awash with messages of thanks, disbelief, and plenty of fan art.

otaquest.com — If you've been feeling the absence of both Chainsaw Man and Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku ever since they ended last year, then I have some good news for you: there's a manga by an author who was mentored by both Tatsuki Fujimoto and Yuji Kaku. His name is Yukinobu Tatsu, and it's called Dandadan .

otaquest.com — Throughout multiple years of hiatuses and one notoriously slow-paced arc, there was always the nagging thought at the back of many Berserk fans' minds that Guts' journey might never come to an end. Now, our worst fears have come true: Kentaro Miura passed away on 6 May due to acute aortic dissection, leaving his life's work unfinished.

otaquest.com — Towards the beginning of this year, fans of the Hololive virtual YouTuber Akai Haato and the subculture alike found themselves watching something very unusual. In a stream entitled '#FREEHAACHAMA,' Haato attempts to sing karaoke songs, but is interrupted several times by an antagonistic force known only as 'Haachama.'

otaquest.com — It'd be the understatement of the century to say that the ending to the Attack on Titan manga was highly anticipated. After many years of teasing from Hajime Isayama (including a preview of the final panel), excitement was at fever pitch: this may or may not have created certain expectations that could have never been answered.

otaquest.com — As soon as Kizuna AI merchandise began to appear during my time in Japan on the shelves of Animate, I realized that virtual YouTubers were no longer an underground phenomenon.

otaquest.com — There's a moment in Call of the Night volume two that I can't quite get out of my head. At the end of chapter 15, protagonist Kou Yamori and his vampire friend Nazuna Nanakusa are interrupted by the tired office worker Kiyomisu Shirakawa, who comes to Nazuna's apartment in search of a massage.

otaquest.com — In the list of best-selling manga, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai sticks out like a sore thumb. Next to the likes of Devilman and Yu Yu Hakusho , The Adventure of Dai is the only spinoff series to sit at 50 million copies.

otaquest.com — A recent collaboration between game studio Capcom and the legendary Osamu Tezuka has got me thinking: what would a fighting game based on the properties and characters of the 'God of Manga' really look like? To be clear, the actual exhibit that the "Capcom vs.

otaquest.com — Almost a month has passed since Tatsuki Matsuya and Shiro Usazaki's Act-Age came to an unceremonious end in Weekly Shonen Jump. For however much heartbreak that might have caused, it was undoubtedly the right thing to do: continuing to support and publish series writer Tatsuki Matsuya after his irresponsible and reprehensible actions would have been a moral quandary that many fans, including myself, were not prepared to cross.

otaquest.com — Cancelation is part of the very DNA of Weekly Shonen Jump. Part of the reason why Shueisha's magazine has been so successful over the years is because of its cutthroat editorial policy, canceling any series that doesn't see immediate commercial success.

otaquest.com — July 26, 2005 was the day, fifteen years ago, that the original [email protected] arcade game hit Japanese arcades. Since then, Bandai Namco Entertainment's "idol raising" series has outgrown that little cabinet, spanning multiple games, anime, sub-series, and generations - changing the face of Japanese pop culture as we know it.

otaquest.com — To a certain extent, Ciconia When They Cry Phase 1 was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, going against the When They Cry's mystery traditions was necessary, but this was also bound to anger fans who valued this important element of previous entries.