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 Satoshi Mizukami is a seinen and shounen manga author who primarily publishes his stories in the magazine Young King OURS. Many of his works have been very well received here in ADTRW. His material is known for strong characterization, over-the-top action, well-timed comedy, frankly ridiculous developments and twists, and a distinctive rough art style that manages to be very appealing.  Hoshi no Samidare: The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer The big one, and the one I hope everyone will read as a matter of principal. Had a thread way back when. Yuuhi Amamiya wakes up one morning to find a lizard on his bed, and to his surprise it talks to him, claiming that he has been enlisted as a beast knight to save the world. All well and good, except Yuuhi turns out to have a pretty twisted personality and no real desire to do anything to help anyone. That is, until he meets the "princess" of the beast knights... who says she wants to destroy the world herself! Yuuhi immediately pledges his loyalty to her, and the rather unconventional tale of the Lizard Knight and the Lucifer Princess begins. This series has been completed and it owns a lot.  Sengoku Youko This also got a thread! Though it takes a while to get going, Sengoku Youko is up there with the likes of Biscuit Hammer and is at present Mizukami's longest work. Tama Youko and Sendou Jinka are two siblings traveling Japan during the Warring States Period, looking to correct the wrong doings of humans. Tama, who is a demon, loves humans while her step-brother Jinka is a human who loathes other humans and aspires to become a demon himself. When their journey pits them against a temple of monks experimenting on combining demons and humans, things rapidly spiral out of control. This is the series that brought us the line for the ages: "I think I just saw a mountain kick a castle!" Published in Comic Blade, which makes SY one of his shounen series.  Spirit Circle Fuuta Okeya possesses the ability to see ghosts, but that's the least strangest thing in his life at the moment. Instead, that would be his involvement with a new transfer student named Kouko Ishigami. Kouko claims that Fuuta is her sworn enemy, and that they have been at each other's throats since ancient times. She is determined to have Fuuta pay for his previous lives' sins, and to do so will have him relive his seven lives and deaths. In my opinion this is Mizukami's best work.  Planet With Developed as both a manga and anime project simultaneously, Planet With is a sci-fi mecha story following Souya Kuroi and his friends and family. As the Earth is attacked by UFOs known as "Nebula Weapons", 7 heroes rise to the occasion to fight them off. However when Souya joins the fight, the enemies that he sets his eyes on aren't Nebula but... the heroes themselves?!  Solte the Traveler Set in a world where magic is considered both forbidden but still alluring to adventurers who endeavor to explore the areas corrupted by it, the story follows Solte and her companions as they set forth on a quest to learn the truth of the world. Has a unique release schedule, with a chapters coming out quarterly each year. So, in summary: 
Nate RFB fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Jan 24, 2022 |
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Oct 11, 2012 04:18
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Satoshi Mizukami is pretty much the best. I really hope we start getting Sengoku Youko chapters regularly again, it has a slow start but it starts to own fast. Seriously, if the Feudal Japan setting - or anything really - set you off from reading it, go read all the translated chapters right now. It's great. Also posting this from the HnS thread for posterity's sake. 
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Oct 11, 2012 04:56
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I'm sure you meant in summary
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Oct 11, 2012 04:56
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There's something incredibly... incredibly unique about Mizukami's (who I've always misspelled "Mikazumi") style of humor. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's just very quirky and unmistakably his own. L&BH had this in abundance, a sort of laid-back, yet strangely epic sense to it that I could best describe as feeling "FLCL-ish". Strange, absurd, surreal, but with a sort of laid-back, take-it-as-it-comes approach. People are relaxed at the strange things, and their reactions are more like a good-natured punch on the shoulder. Mizukami is a wonderful, excellent author, and everyone should read him.
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Oct 11, 2012 05:02
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"FLCL-ish" is pretty apt, even ignoring certain obvious connections.
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Oct 11, 2012 05:42
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For the truly obsessed, you can also find him on Pixiv (sparsely updated, beware of nudies, but hey some cool fanart) or twitter (Japanese only, not the most exciting feed but pretty regular) I told him one time that a bunch of foreigners liked his comics and he said thanks for reading 
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Oct 11, 2012 05:51
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Epoxy Bulletin posted:For the truly obsessed, you can also find him on Pixiv (sparsely updated, beware of nudies, but hey some cool fanart) or twitter (Japanese only, not the most exciting feed but pretty regular) Wow! Satoshi Mizukami Improvement meme:  From "Look at me, I am posting on DeviantArt!" to  In fact, the modern one is barely even recognizable as the same artist. It only took 11 years!
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Oct 11, 2012 06:17
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Wow, it's really easy to tell then that the short and incomplete works are from much earlier in the decade (in particular look at Sanjin Sadou and the short story collection). Everything is a lot more angular now, as well as more defined with thicker lines. There are some nice pieces of artwork in his pixiv account (I saw a Nono!), but also unfortunately a lot of girls in underwear. Guy isn't ambiguous about his tastes, I guess. E: Oh god the fingers, I do not think fingers bend that way (year 2000 pic). Nate RFB fucked around with this message at 12:35 on Oct 11, 2012 |
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Oct 11, 2012 12:14
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Epoxy Bulletin posted:For the truly obsessed, you can also find him on Pixiv (sparsely updated, beware of nudies, but hey some cool fanart) or twitter (Japanese only, not the most exciting feed but pretty regular) Thanks for translating Spirit Circle by the way, pretty much all of Mizukami's works are awesome and this looks like it will be no exception.
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Oct 11, 2012 23:29
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Other than where he gets published, which is admittedly the most important reason really, I'm not sure why his stuff is considered seinen. Definitely seems the case that its just not as restrictive in terms of poo poo getting cancelled or whatever
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Oct 11, 2012 23:49
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If nothing else, do read Hoshi no Samidare, even if the summary doesn't appeal to you. It's not that it's a bad summary, just that there's no good way to summarize the series (other than maybe "awesome"); it's something that constantly defies expectations. Plus I still entertain hopes that if it becomes popular enough it will get an anime. On that note, something else for posterity. 
Bremen fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Oct 12, 2012 |
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Oct 11, 2012 23:54
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Scott Bakula posted:Other than where he gets published, which is admittedly the most important reason really, I'm not sure why his stuff is considered seinen. Definitely seems the case that its just not as restrictive in terms of poo poo getting cancelled or whatever That's the only reason anything is considered seinen. Content has absolutely nothing to do with it at all.
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Oct 12, 2012 00:14
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It's not graphic and grimdark but I don't think something like Spirit Circle would fit well with most standard shounen fare. Human sacrifice by one of the characters we're supposed to sympathise with was a fairly serious starter. That said Spirit Circle seems to be one step beyond Biscuit Hammer in that kind of stuff and a couple beyond Sengoku Youko.
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Oct 12, 2012 22:52
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Thanks to this thread, I marathoned Hoshi no Samidare over the past couple days, and it was amazing. Anyone on the fence about it: read it.
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Oct 12, 2012 23:16
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Munin posted:It's not graphic and grimdark but I don't think something like Spirit Circle would fit well with most standard shounen fare. Human sacrifice by one of the characters we're supposed to sympathise with was a fairly serious starter.
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Oct 13, 2012 02:08
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Well you got me to read HnS, and it is pretty neat. I really like his art style, for some reason. Even if he can't stop drawing panty or rear end shots every chapter.
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Oct 13, 2012 05:02
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TK-31 posted:Well you got me to read HnS, and it is pretty neat. I really like his art style, for some reason. Even if he can't stop drawing panty or rear end shots every chapter. I feel that that's largely an obligation in its shaky early chapters, nodding to its audience in a seinen magazine. As the story goes on, the panty and rear end shots diminish almost completely.
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Oct 13, 2012 05:35
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OH NO!! I DROPPED THE ALL YOU CAN EAT VOUCHER TO THE FRENCH RESTAURANT IN FRONT OF THE STATION THAT OPENED LAST WEEK!! yep, still good Isn't it great when you totally forget about a series, come back a few years later and there's lots more waiting to be read?
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Oct 13, 2012 07:42
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DrSunshine posted:I feel that that's largely an obligation in its shaky early chapters, nodding to its audience in a seinen magazine. As the story goes on, the panty and rear end shots diminish almost completely. 
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Oct 13, 2012 16:02
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It's a crime that Hoshi no Samidare hasn't gotten the high-quality animated series it deserves, panty shots aside. Mizukami's got a grasp of motion and simple-yet-distinctive character design I think is only matched by Fullmetal Alchemist.
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Oct 14, 2012 00:22
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The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer is seriously one of my favorite stories in any format. One of the things I love about it is how it manages to simultaneously be a subversion of and an amazing example of that old plot standby "a rag-tag group of misfits must come together to save the world". He's become one of my favorite comic artists around, his style is hardly realistic looking but it conveys emotion and motion so well. And as I said in the seinen thread I freaking love how he draws eyes, even if I can't really articulate exactly what it is about them that makes them so amazing to me. It sucks that there's no way to get an actual print version of an English translation for any of his stuff. There's an official digital version for LBH...but only two volumes are finished and it's been a goddamn eternity since there was a new one. Hey Samidare, how are you feeling today? 
a kitten fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Oct 14, 2012 |
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Oct 14, 2012 05:37
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Oxxidation posted:It's a crime that Hoshi no Samidare hasn't gotten the high-quality animated series it deserves, panty shots aside. Mizukami's got a grasp of motion and simple-yet-distinctive character design I think is only matched by Fullmetal Alchemist. I misread Psycho Pass as Psycho Staff and, for a few seconds, lived in a world where Mizukami had an anime adaptation. It was a better world.
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Oct 14, 2012 06:48
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cisneros posted:I misread Psycho Pass as Psycho Staff and, for a few seconds, lived in a world where Mizukami had an anime adaptation. It was a better world. I did the same thing. It only lasted a second, but it was a beautiful second.
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Oct 14, 2012 07:11
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I finished Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer just now. God now I'm gonna be all emotional for the rest of the night 
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Oct 14, 2012 09:39
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cisneros posted:I misread Psycho Pass as Psycho Staff and, for a few seconds, lived in a world where Mizukami had an anime adaptation. It was a better world. I do this every single time someone brings up that show and I wasn't even aware Psycho Staff existed a few days ago. 
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Oct 14, 2012 11:08
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I marathonned Biscuit Hammer in two days because I saw this thread and had heard about it before. It was loving amazing.
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Oct 14, 2012 13:38
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Yep, same. I had read Psycho Staff before and thought it was merely okay, but Biscuit Hammer rocked my socks.
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Oct 14, 2012 19:16
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I dunno what it is about Biscuit Hammer, but it was really loving good. I think it's because it didn't bullshit me. All the characters were presented honestly, it had a wide variety of tones and moods, the plot didn't have any dumb twists or plotholes, it was aware enough of what was happening in the story that allowed it to subvert expectations enough to keep me hooked, and it understood that at its core it's kinda ridiculous and didn't take itself totally seriously (which helps a lot), yet that just makes the serious parts even better somehow. It's totally different from stuff like Future Diary, which was okay but just didn't have the impact that Biscuit Hammer did.a kitten posted:how the group takes out Animu's last, obscenely huge golem This is the greatest typo. Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Oct 14, 2012 |
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Oct 14, 2012 19:36
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God, I ended up re-reading most of the story's climax last night when I was looking for cool panels to post and I just want to geek out about that for a bit. Ending spoilers: That last fight is out-loving-standing; first: how the group takes out Animus' last, obscenely huge golem by combining all of their power, then the fight against him has to start with both Samidare and Yuuhi MIA and they win, without any direct help from Sami (but, essentially knocking on the goddamn sky to break Magus's concentration is insanely cool all by itself) and the Owl Knight's wish...I could basically go on from here, but I would more or less just be narrating the ending while going like this:  I love this manga to bits, and every time I think that maybe, just maybe it's not quite as great as my memory tells me I re-read part of it and find that it's actually even better than that. e: typo, what typo? 
a kitten fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Oct 14, 2012 |
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Oct 14, 2012 19:38
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I read Biscuit Hammer for the first time a few weeks ago, it was amazing. I ended up spending two afternoons going through it, I couldn't put it down. I cried towards the end... 
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Oct 14, 2012 19:43
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Silento posted:I read Biscuit Hammer for the first time a few weeks ago, it was amazing. I ended up spending two afternoons going through it, I couldn't put it down. I cried towards the end... The second time Sami says "Invincible" is one of my favorite things in a series chock full of favorite things and never fails to make me tear up, I was sniffly before that, but it was (and is) full on waterworks after that page. E: On reflection the second Invincible is where I break down again, after having finally gotten my poo poo together after losing it during the second, actual final battle. a kitten fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Oct 14, 2012 |
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Oct 14, 2012 20:04
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I definitely struggle to think of a better final battle than Hoshi no Samidare's. It really hits all of the right notes. I'm not sure if Mizukami had the whole story planned out in advance, but the fact that it's "only" 10 volumes and so tightly written across them is such a huge strength. And then it ends with that spectacular finale to bring it home.
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Oct 14, 2012 20:56
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a kitten posted:Ending spoilers: No, no, I've got some others. The way the final battle with Animus technically begins. "BISCUIT HAMMER! COME...ON...DOWN!" Mikazuki kicking Animus in the face from fifty feet in the sky. Animus continually freaking out at every new development because he's so unused to fighting without his golems. Animus still massacring everybody and only being defeated because Akane mashed the Reset button on everyone's injuries again and again until he passed out. Nagumo kicking Animus in the face from the back of a talking unicorn.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:17
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Oxxidation posted:No, no, I've got some others. Not to mention the art is amazing. Just look at that http://www.batoto.net/read/_/3347/hoshi-no-samidare_v9_ch58_by_otakami/30. It's the best. Also, how does nobody mention Samidare punching out the Biscuit Hammer?
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Oct 14, 2012 21:39
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Nate RFB posted:It's all relative. Fist of the North Star was published in Shounen Jump and Ah! My Goddess is published in a seinen magazine. It's really just about what the publisher is willing to serialize for their target demographics. But yeah, by getting published there, you could argue that he theoretically has more leeway with certain things. True,true. I'd be saying the same thing if it was published in a shounen one. His stories tend to go into slightly uncomfortable places and even at their most saccharine tend to be a little askew from general sensibilities.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:52
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One of the details I've always found amusing was Anima's ring. A different author might've resorted to using digital tools or some kind of circular edge or something. Not Mizukami. It's clearly a hand-drawn ring every time, wobbles and all. I just find it endlessly amusing and interesting that this incomprehensible super-being from the future has such a crappy-looking shoddy thing for a decoration.
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Oct 14, 2012 22:25
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Do my eyes deceive me? But could that be... a Sengoku Youko chapter? Why yes, yes it is.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:38
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Nate RFB posted:Do my eyes deceive me? But could that be... a Sengoku Youko chapter? Why yes, yes it is. Haha! "I literally want to be a bird!" I love it!! The shogun is quite possibly tied with the Mountain Goddess for being the best character in the whole comic.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:44
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DrSunshine posted:Haha! "I literally want to be a bird!" I love it!! The shogun is quite possibly tied with the Mountain Goddess for being the best character in the whole comic. So cool~ Man, everyone's  faces got a huge workout this chapter.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:47
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Leave it up to Mizukami to make a birdkin awesome and endearing. Well, it helps that Yoshiteru Ashikaga is also an awesome dad to Senya.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:55
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