Welcome to Manga Widget!

Welcome to my new blog, Manga Widget. Let’s get a short introduction done and out of the way, and we’ll get to the manga (which is why you showed up here in the first place, am I right?).

I started learning about Japan and the “anime scene” as a sophomore or junior in high-school. Growing up in a rural area of the Midwest, most people I knew couldn’t tell me the difference between China and Japan. Although I am now a tide and true manga fan, the area is mostly unchanged, and you can tell by looking at the bookshelves at the local bookstore. If you can call it that.

To give credit where credit is due, I would never have stumbled upon the beautiful, shocking, and sometimes blissfully obscene world of manga were it not for this little bookstore. It was there that on a whim, I decided to purchase the first volume of Negima!: Magister Negi Magi. It was one of those “It’s only 10 dollars so let’s see what happens” moments. It was a shocker, because it wasn’t like any comic book I had ever read. But I loved it, because it wasn’t like any comic book I had ever read.

It was ridiculous. There were pantie shots. There was action, comedy, and a host of traditions that I was not aware of, scenes that required hours of research, and a story that I could really sink my teeth into. It was enough to hook me. I started reading other series at the local library, first staying with Ken Akamatsu and his wonderful Love Hina series, but then branching out to shonen titles like Full Metal Alchemist and Hikaru no Go. As I continued to read, I became more and more impressed, purchasing and reading more and more titles. The fun has never stopped.

Negi and his classroom of rowdy girls opened the path for me into the world of manga, and now I’m here to stay. I hope you enjoy my blog.