Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast

Welcome to Manga Monday! This week we're diving into Dai Dark by Q Hayashida, the creator of Dorohedoro, and if you loved that unhinged masterpiece then buckle up because she did it again but in space. Zaha Sanko is a 14 year old kid cursed with bones that can supposedly grant any wish, which means every alien, space pirate, and cult fanatic in the galaxy wants to rip him apart. Armed with a shapeshifting weapon made of pure darkness and his skeletal best friend Avakian, Sanko fights his way through the cosmos looking for whoever cursed him in the first place. But here's the thing, despite being hunted by literally everyone, this guy is mostly just vibing. He's baking bread on abandoned pirate ships and inventing spaghetti sandwiches between murder attempts. The art is raw, gritty, and overflowing with Hayashida's signature chaotic energy, and the world building is so bizarre and detailed it feels like it shouldn't work but absolutely does. Nine volumes deep and ranked seventh on Kono Manga ga Sugoi. This one's a fever dream you don't want to wake up from.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

Strap in, the anime world is going wild this week! Let’s talk about it.Massive updates on Solo Leveling, a Vampire Survivors and Jujutsu Kaisen crossover, Black Clover, BLUELOCK, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners x Wuthering Waves.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

Welcome to Manga Monday!This week we're diving into The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity by Saka Mikami, a romance manga running on Magazine Pocket that is basically Romeo and Juliet if Romeo worked in a cake shop and Juliet was really, really hungry. Chidori Public High School and Kikyo Girls' Academy sit right next to each other but couldn't be more different. Chidori is full of so-called delinquent boys with terrible grades, Kikyo is a prestigious academy for wealthy young ladies, and the two schools absolutely despise each other. Rintaro Tsumugi is a Chidori student with a face that scares everyone away but a heart that's pure gold, working part time at his family's patisserie. Kaoruko Waguri is a kind, bubbly Kikyo student who walks into the shop one day and treats him like a normal person. They click instantly, and then the worst possible discovery: she's from that school. What follows is a story about two people fighting against every expectation, every prejudice, and every social wall their world puts between them. The author set out to write a manga where every character is kind, and you feel it. Over 10 million copies in circulation, a CloverWorks anime adaptation that earned universal acclaim, and not a single kiss until chapter 100. This one proves you don't need gimmicks to make a romance that absolutely devastates you.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

Welcome to Manga Monday! This week we're diving into Kagurabachi, Takeru Hokazono's sword fighting revenge epic running in Weekly Shonen Jump that memed its way into the conversation and then backed it up with one of the best action manga in years. Chihiro Rokuhira grew up training under his father Kunishige, a legendary swordsmith whose six Enchanted Blades single-handedly ended a war. The goofy dad and the serious kid lived a quiet life together until a group of criminal sorcerers called the Hishaku murdered Kunishige and stole the blades. Now Chihiro wields his father's seventh and final blade on a blood soaked quest to reclaim what was taken. But this isn't just mindless revenge. It's about a father's belief that his creations should protect, not destroy, and a son carrying that forward even when hatred would be easier. The fight choreography is brutal, the lore keeps getting deeper, and Chihiro is the kind of protagonist who says almost nothing but hits you right in the chest with everything he does. Over 3 million copies sold. This one earned every bit of the hype.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

Welcome to Manhwa Monday! This week we're diving into The Greatest Estate Developer, written by BK_Moon and illustrated by Kim Hyunsoo, a fantasy isekai on Webtoon that takes the "reincarnated into a novel" premise and turns it into something genuinely hilarious.Civil engineering student Suho Kim falls asleep reading a fantasy novel and wakes up as Lloyd Frontera, a lazy, drunk nobleman whose family is drowning in debt. But Suho's read the book, he knows what's coming, and he's got something no one in this world has: modern engineering knowledge. So instead of swinging a sword or casting spells, this man is solving fantasy world problems with drainage systems, structural reinforcements, and infrastructure planning. He's got a loyal knight, a giant hamster companion, and the most unhinged facial expressions in all of manhwa. It sounds absurd and it absolutely is, but the engineering concepts are legit, the world building is surprisingly deep, and underneath all the comedy there's real heart about rebuilding something broken and proving everyone wrong.This one's pure gold.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

Welcome to Manga Monday! This week we're diving into The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All by Sumiko Arai, affectionately known by fans as "Green Yuri," and the winner of the Next Manga Award 2023.Aya is a fashionable gyaru high schooler who's obsessed with rock music but can't find anyone who shares her taste, until she starts visiting a small CD shop and falls hard for the cool, mysterious clerk dressed in all black with a hoodie and face mask. The problem? That clerk is actually her quiet, nerdy female classmate Mitsuki Koga, who works at her uncle's shop and wears contacts and unisex clothes to stay anonymous. Mitsuki knows exactly who Aya is, sits right next to her in class, and is terrified of the truth coming out.What starts as a premise you think you've seen before quickly becomes something special, a story about two girls connecting through music, building a friendship that's achingly authentic to how teenagers actually bond, and slowly realising their feelings run deeper than fandom. It's fluffy, it's heartfelt, it handles queer romance with real care and zero sensationalism, and an anime has already been confirmed.If you want something that'll make your heart do that thing, this is it.If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.)Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | TwitterJoin our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like youFollow my anime Spotify playlistMy amazing sponsors:Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipmentIced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5)Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping)Affiliate links:Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platformKomi.io - the best linkinbio websiteRiverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform