This one has been a long time coming. I already called it out in our “Best Ongoing Underappreciated Manga: Our Top Hidden Gems” episode a few months back, but Touge Oni is one of my absolute favorite currently serialized manga. It’s a true masterpiece and deserves way more attention (like this) than it gets. Please check out this week’s episode – and then the manga.
Podcast links:
Yona
April 22, 2026 at 3:37 amAwesome to see someone talking about this manga, it’s really something else. Although I have to admit I’m not quite as knowledgeable about Japanese mythology as I’d like to be, which makes it a bit hard to follow sometimes.
Guardian Enzo
April 22, 2026 at 9:40 amIt’s an education in itself!
There’s not much translated fiction about this setting, pre-Nara. Read up on Wa and the Asuka Period if you’re curious about the time when Touge Oni is set.
Jindujun93
April 26, 2026 at 6:39 pmStarted reading that one a year or two ago, back when you originally mentioned that Mizukami himself praised it, and definitely had a lot of fun with it so far – just about the only downside to it so far is the longer gaps in between translations since they go by volume rather than chapter, which does make me forget a lot of the details every so often when a new batch drops.
Well, though that in turn means that I’ll be able to appreciate it even more in the future whenever it’s completed and the inevitable re-read comes around at that point, haha.
Guardian Enzo
April 26, 2026 at 6:58 pmYeah, that’s one that needs a second pass for sure, especially with the huge waits between reading. Tsurubachi’s attention to detail is amazing.