My Taste is Better Than Yours

Back to Hunter x Hunter we go, jumping over now to Greed Island along with Gon and Killua. In a shake-up from the usual HxH arc reviews, this might be the first where we have disagreements about how much we enjoy this one on the whole. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - the third island: Greed Island 4:26 Our experiences of Greed Island and favourite iteration of the arc? 8:34 Is it an Isekai? 10:08 Hisoka’s role this arc - enemy turned ally with all his “quirks” 19:28 Biscuit - Gon and Killua’s new mentor + their relationship 24:02 Comparing Greed Island vs Heavens Arena 26:33 The anticlimaxes of the arcs: The Bomber + not meeting Ging 33:37 Our takes on the Dodgeball match 35:34 Is Greed Island too self-indulgent on Togashi’s part? Comparisons to Succession Contest 39:33 Which card would you take with you if you had the choice? 44:18 Samu’s Recommendation: World Trigger by Daisuke Ashihara 47:10 Enzo’s Recommendation: Brave Story by Yoichiro Ono and Miyabe Miyuki 49:16 Overview and final scores

It's our first episode of 2025 and we're discussing a series that is due to get an anime adaptation later this year: The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokmok Len. This is the first series picked by the LostinAnime patrons, and it’s one we both mostly agree is pretty damn good. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - Our first series voted by the LostinAnime patrons, an early sensation in Japan 8:04 Comparing our experiences of binging vs followed it as it’s published 11:04 Momok Len’s ‘slice of life’ approach to drama 16:35 Is Hikaru still Hikaru? Exploring the theme of performance between Hikaru and Yoshiki 20:53 What do we think of the relationship between Yoshiki and Hikaru before he died? 25:36 Momok Len’s favourite manga: Tokyo Ghoul 26:44 The anime adaptation and confirmation of the series being 10 volumes total 29:15 Spoiler discussion begins 29:57 How do we expect the series is going to play out in the second half? 35:04 The population decline of rural Japan and how it lends to this type of horror 35:53 Was Hikaru familiar with his family’s history before he died? 38:54 Could we get a flashback of the original Hikaru? 39:44 Was Kurabayashi wrong not to take out Hikaru when she had the chance? 42:27 Is this series science-fiction or fantasy? Aliens??? 45:35 Where do we see the anime adapting up until? 49:21 Enzo’s Recommendation: Shiki by Fuyumi Ono and Ryu Fujisaki 52:11 Samu’s Recommendation: Stigmata + Stigmata -Love Bites- by Hidebu Takahashi 54:22 Overview and final scores

It’s our second end of year special episode, this time we’re doing a Year in Review for the manga we read in 2024 - we hope you enjoy and can take some recommendations from our choices of across 18 categories that covers the full scope of both our tastes.. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - another special end of year episode 1:43 Best new manga published in 2024 4:51 Best manga that finished in 2024 7:41 Best ongoing manga of 2024 11:04 Best manga we discovered in 2024 15:38 Newcomer mangaka to look out for 18:00 Up-and-comer manga to keep and eye on 23:18 Best one-shots of the year 24:39 Underappreciated gem of 2024 28:40 Best character of 2024 33:53 Best artwork of 2024 37:38 Biggest trend for manga in 2024 43:24 Which manga got the best adaptation in 2024? 48:10 Our most anticipated manga to anime adaptation for 2025? 53:46 Best manga we’ve read from the podcast 55:55 Unlikely anime adaptation that could make for potential Anime of the Year 1:01:08 Predictions for likely anime adaptations announced in 2025 1:04:16 Old school manga we want to see illogically rebooted in 2025 1:08:36 The manga we think our counterpart should read 1:16:19 Wrap-up and reflecting on starting the podcast this year

It’s the end of the year and we’ve got the first of two special episodes for you. This time we’re getting into Samu’s favourite subject: Weekly Shonen Jump. We’re taking a look over every series that ran in 2024 - concluded and still ongoing - to discuss our takes and how well they’re doing. Hopefully this helps provide some insight into the ever-competitive nature of manga’s most popular magazine as well as some series worth checking out. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - our relationship with the magazine 2:36 Table of content explanation 5:18 Completed series 5:24 My Hero Academia - the epilogue chapter and Horikoshi’s return? 10:47 Jujutsu Kaisen - a disappointing final arc and ending, Gege’s attempt at Togashi-isms 14:09 Dr. Stone: 4D Science - the mini-series sequel 15:32 Cancelled series 15:42 Cipher Academy - NISIOISIN, and Enzo’s dislike for his writing 17:22 Martial Master Asumi - Kawada’s failed return after Hinomaru Sumo 17:59 Mamayuyu - the battle shonen that didn’t take off, but that we really liked 21:25 Two on Ice - the ice skating drama that didn’t stand out 22:17 Green Green Greens - a fantastic golf character drama, why didn’t it click? 29:27 Shadow Eliminators - a generic exorcist series with pretty boys and hot girls 30:14 Dear Anemone - MHA assistant with detailed art that got a very early cut 30:53 Kyokuto Necromance - Fusai Naba repeats the same mistakes with ALIENS AREA 31:40 Psych House - A sweet, low-key slice of life that Enzo loved 35:47 Yokai Buster Murakami - a perma-flop perma-gag series 36:45 Ongoing series 36:51 One Piece - still #1, still going, probably throughout this decade? 39:03 Hunter x Hunter - another 10 great chapters of Succession Content 42:28 Mission: Yozakura Family + Undead Unluck - mid-ranking battle manga about to end 43:32 Me & Roboco - the established gag title of the magazine 46:03 Sakamoto Days - will the 2025 adaptation make it as big as it could be? Why did it take so long? 51:20 The Elusive Samurai - aided by a very 2024 anime adaptation; could it wrap up in 2025? 55:01 WITCH WATCH - it’s weakest year to date, with a Spring 2025 anime upcoming 57:50 Blue Box - an ongoing anime, a success in the magazine, and an uncertain future? 1:00:21 Akane-banashi - had its best year for the manga in 2024 but where is the anime? 1:04:45 RuriDragon - returned from hiatus, now digital-only, still a big success 1:06:45 Kill Blue - a truly generalist all-genre title that doesn’t succeed in any lane 1:08:19 Nue’s Exorcist - WSJ’s very own light novel action title 1:09:32 Kagurabachi - The Next Big Thing of the magazine despite its initial poor TOC rankings 1:10:35 Super Psychic Policeman Chojo - the other gag title in the magazine 1:11:11 Astro Royale - Ken Wakui’s shocking shift to WSJ, will it backfire? 1:15:36 Ultimate Exorcist Kyoshi - A new Mashle-like gag-battle title with an adorable lead 1:16:31 HimaTen! - a charming, low-key harem rom-com that both of us enjoy 1:19:22 Ichi the Witch - another potential big hit by two acclaimed women coming together 1:23:33 Shinobi Undercover - Candy Flurry’s duo returns for a Sakamoto-esque ninja action series 1:24:30 Hakutaku - the gaming manga about to be cancelled 1:25:22 Syd Craft: Love is a Mystery - the creator of We Never Learn returns for a detective romcom 1:26:20 Samu and Enzo’s yearly WSJ postcard votes 1:29:05 Wrapping up Weekly Shonen Jump in 2024 + outro

We’re back to Hunter x Hunter again, and this time we’re diving into Yorknew City, where things start getting serious, Kurapika steps into the main character spot as we follow his quest for revenge, and we both disagree on whether this feels like a shonen or a seinen arc. Check it out! Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - New York City and how that relates to Yorknew 4:51 Why is Yorknew City arc beloved by fans, particularly pre-2011 anime? 9:22 Shonen vs Seinen debate 19:88 Enzo’s love for the Whale Island section - Gon and Killua pre-Yorknew 23:50 The Phantom Troupe and our feelings with what we learn in the Succession Contest arc 29:30 Togashi’s use of absence of information between character for dramatic tension 31:07 Gon and Killua’s effect on Kurapika’s morality 33:04 The anticlimax quota: no epic showdown between Kurapika and the Spiders 35:20 The other anticlimax: the Hisoka vs Chrollo showdown that never happened 36:36 Pakunoda and Nobunaga’s place in the Phantom Troupe 38:19 Was Hisoka protecting Gon as a long-term investment in his potential? 41:20 Other newly introduced characters we love: Melody and Zepile 45:38 Samu’s Recommendation: Kagurabachi (Rakuzaichi arc) by Takeru Hokozono 47:32 Enzo’s Recommendation: Jormungand by Takahashi Keitarou 50:47 Overview and final scores