All You Need Is Kill

If we ever met, we'd probably disagree on politics and religion, but I have to give credit to Tom Cruise for choosing interesting roles. His latest sci-fi escapade, Edge of Tomorrow, comes from a Japanese novel titled All You Need is Kill (オール　ユー　二ード　イズ　キル). The movie keeps the original title for the Japanese release.

The original novel was written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (櫻坂洋) and published in 2004. It was highly regarded upon release and nominated for the Seiun Award. Between January and May this year, a two part manga was released, written by Ryosuke Takeuchi (竹内良輔), and illustrated by Takeshi Obata (小畑健).

You can check out Viz Media's All You Need Is Kill page, they have an English translation of the original novel (translated by Alexander O. Smith), a translation of the recently released manga, and also an American produced graphic novel.

http://www.viz.com/all-you-need-is-kill

Saint Young Men #10

I'm in the process of moving, so excuse the lack of updates recently. The latest volume of Saint Young Men (聖おにいさん) was released just over a month ago, and I just got around to reading it.

If you haven't read any of the earlier volumes, don't worry, there are some minor running gags, but each episode stands alone, and juxtaposes Japanese culture with Christian and Buddhist theology. The more you know about either of those subjects the more you will get out of it.

The lack of continuity does feel a little jarring, as the comic jumps from a summer barbecue, to Jesus' rivalry with Santa at Christmas, and back to hanami in spring. Although I guess if you are reading the series as it is originally released in Morning Moai, then it might make more sense.

Saint Young Men Official Site: http://morning.moae.jp/lineup/25
Saint Young Men on Twitter: https://twitter.com/saint_oniisan
Hikaru Nakamura on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hikakom