Manga: Reviews of My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 1 and Grand Blue Dreaming, Vol. 1 - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

Time Codes:

• 00:00:28 - Introduction
• 00:02:26 - Why we do the manga series
• 00:05:31 - My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 1
• 00:39:50 - Grand Blue Dreaming, Vol. 1
• 01:09:24 - Wrap up
• 01:10:28 - Contact us

Radically Different

For July, Shea and Derek discuss two works of manga that are radically different, one from the other. They begin with Nagata Kabi's My Solo Exchange Diary, Vol. 1 (Seven Seas Entertainment). This is the follow-up to her previous autobiographical work My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, a text the guys discussed last year. Whereas the earlier work was more targeted to a particular experience, the first volume of Kabi's Solo Exchange Diary is broader in scope and chronicles a variety her life phenomena. Both Shea and Derek are fascinated by this project, especially given the diary's structure and the creator's conversations with herself.

Next, the Two Guys check out the first volume of Kenji Inoue and Kimitake Yoshioka's Grand Blue Dreaming (Kodansha Comics). The premise of this series is based on a young man going off to college and expecting to have the usual college experiences. What he finds instead is a wild world of drunken and naked partying, all generated by the men of the local Diving Club. Both Derek and Shea find this title quite different from their usual reading, and they didn't expect the wildness, and the weirdness, embedded within. If you're looking for a manga about heavy drinking and naked game play, then Grand Blue Dreamingis for you.

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