My Taste is Better Than Yours

45 - Manga Taishō Winners of the Decade so Far

The Manga Taishō is one of the most prestigious awards a series can win, with plenty of future big-hitters gracing the shortlists every year. We decided to read all the winners of the decade so far (2020-2025) and give our takes on each and why we think they did win each year. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - Discussion Manga Taishō in the context of other manga awards 2:10 Rules of the Manga Taishō Awards 5:00 Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi 13:50 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe 21:39 The Darwin Incident by Shun Umezawa 30:38 Draw This, Then Die! (Kore Kaite Shine) by Minoru Toyoda 38:48 Spacewalking With You by Inuhiko Doronoda 47:47 Alice, All the Way to the Stars (Alice, Doko Made mo) by Kiko Urino 59:55 Who do we think should have won each year?

44 - Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You by Jinushi

It’s the second LostinAnime Patron-pick this time: Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You by Jinushi. With an anime upcoming and the buzz it’s had over the years, we’ve caught up and have plenty to talk about this little series of smoke breaks, misunderstandings, and slow-burn romance. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - the second patron-picked manga for the podcast 2:16 The subject of smoking and its depiction 6:47 The misunderstanding trope with Sasaki and Yamada/Tayama 10:41 It’s origin as a web manga, the switch in tone when it starting publishing 12:51 Supporting characters: Goto and Kami-san 16:40 Anime adaption incoming and our expectations 20:09 Spoiler discussion begins 20:15 Sasaki’s age, age-gap romance, the power dynamic, and Sasaki’s shift from Tayama to Yamada 30:20 The timing of the realisations that have and will still come 35:00 The other potential ships that could happen 38:49 Sasaki’s unhealthy relationship work and his boss 43:11 Samu’s Recommendation: Kowloon Generic Romance by Jun Mayuzuki + Cat’s Eye by Tsukasa Hojo 45:45 Enzo’s Recommendation: After the Rain by Jun Mayuzuki 48:52 Overview and final scores

43 - JUMPing to Conclusions - Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo + Someone Hertz

We have two new serialisations in Weekly Shonen Jump we’re discussing this week - a distant sequel to one of its most popular titles of the past decade, and a little romcom by a newcomer - we’re charmed by one and left indifferent by another. Tune in to find which one’s which. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - check-in on the previous serialisation round 6:13 Series that ended: Kill Blue and Nice Prison 9:48 Check-in with current WSJ titles: Otr of the Flame, Hima-Ten!, Ichi the Witch, Shinobi Undercover 19:50 Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo by Gege Akutami (Story), Yuji Iwasaki (Art) 29:03 Someone Hertz by Ei Yamano 38:55 First chapter ratings + predictions for its survivability 39:31 Looking ahead, predicting the next series to leave the magazine?

42 - Hunter x Hunter (Succession Contest - Part II) by Yoshihiro Togashi

This is the second part of our conversation on the Succession Contest arc, this time discussing everything to do with Kurapika, the Kakin Empire’s political machinations, and the mafia family conflicts. And after covering the entire series we rank all the arcs in the series by our preference as well as giving our final scores for Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction - part II of the discussion 0:51 The ever-ambitious rules and layers of the Succession Contest 6:14 Standout characters from the Kakin Empire - and which prince do we think will win? 14:06 Kurapika vs Tserriednich - is Kurapika going to die in this arc? 15:44 The various other storylines ongoing right now 18:04 Which of the princes is Beyond Netero’s child? 21:36 Melody being set up to have a pivotal part in the succession contest 25:01 The mafia families - Heil-ly, Char, Xi Yu - and Morena as a standout 29:03 Prediction of an anime adaptation and the length of the Succession Contest arc 32:49 Samu’s Recommendation: Ooku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga  34:19 Enzo’s Recommendation: Hyouge Mono by Yamada Yoshihiro  38:21 Overview and scores for the arc 43:15 Our ranking of all Hunter x Hunter arcs 46:36 Final scores for Hunter x Hunter

41 - Hunter x Hunter (Succession Contest - Part I) by Yoshihiro Togashi

We’re catching up with Hunter x Hunter’s current arc, and despite it being unfinished there’s a plethora of storylines and characters involved that we’re splitting this discussion into the two parts it needs, like we did with Chimera Ant. This episode we talk about the Dark Continent Expedition, Hisoka vs Chrollo, and our feelings of the Phantom Troupe’s role in the current arc. Check it out and stay tuned for the rest of the discussion next week! Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction - catching up to the series with the Succession Contest arc 4:20 Does the Succession Contest arc feel like a Hunter x Hunter spin-off? 14:29 A unique story arc with its sheer amount of every-expanding storylines 18:11 The Zodiacs and the expedition, Ging and Pariston rivalry early in the arc 22:48 Gon Freecss’s absence, will we cut back to him anytime soon? 25:54 Hisoka vs Chrollo at Heaven’s Arena - the fanservable fight of the series 31:52 Hisoka vs the Phantom Troupe on the boat - who is going to win? 35:46 Fake!Hisoka theory coming to fruition 37:46 Phantom Troupe backstory and parallel between Chrollo and Kurapika 46:26 Tune in for Part II of the discussion!