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Manga Tak | Weekly Podcast
@mangatakpod.bsky.social
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🎧 Weekly Manga Pod on the best 1st Volumes
💎 Hidden Gems | 🏛️ Classics | 🚨New Manga
📚1000+ Manga Collection | 🚀Cons / Travel
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mangatakpod.bsky.social
While I got a digital review copy from Titan, I’ve once again ended up ordering it physically for the collection.

Talking to an Italian friend who’s just got volume 10, it also seems the series only goes from strength to strength from here, so I’m excited to read on!
Sanda crashes through the roof of the auditorium!
December 4, 2025 at 8:05 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
It’s nice to be able to see what the book is about already from the second volume, as while I liked the first volume, I wasn’t sure where it was going and I’m now very curious to read on!
At the end of Sanda's first volume, as those who've listened to the podcast will know, I was left with the questions of what this series was going to be about. Was it going to be a Screwball comedy? An all out Santa Action Adventure? A Quirky Mystery? I really didn't know! It turns out I was completely wrong with all those guesses: Sanda is a book about growing up. I should have maybe guessed this having read Paru Itagaki's other work, as it's clearly a big part of Beastars, but with so much silly slapstick comedy and incredible action splash pages, I failed to see in Sanda's literal transformation from boy to man for the blatant, red tracksuit wearing metaphor it is. The volume opens on volume 1's cliffhanger and quickly escalates into all out action as The St. Nick Pursuit Unit descend on the school to put an end to "Santa". The splash pages and spreads here really show how much Itagaki has grown as an artist from her earlier work, and somehow manages to hype you up and make you laugh at the same time. But in the action's aftermath, the other boot of the plot finally drops down the chimney. We see Sanda reveal his struggles to Fuyumura and she in turn shows her more vulnerable side to him. Without giving too much away, we finally get their perspective on what it's like to be a kid in the book's messed up world, and with it all the insecurities and fears that come with transcending from childhood into being an 'adult' As both characters wrestle with these feelings and societal expectations, we're introduced to new characters in Saburo Yagiuda, the chief of the St. Nick Pursuit Unit, and Niko Kazao: Sanda's fiancé! Both new characters help sharpen the story and add drama to Sanda's situation: Niko to cause chaos with Sanda's love life, and Saburo as a real threat to his actual life. I think the biggest feeling I had for most of the book was honestly a real sense of awkwardness reading it and I genuinely think that's a good thing. While it did manage to dredge up my own teenage angst which allowed me to relate to the characters, it mainly served as a shot across the bow: this is not a book for an older reader who's got it all figured out, this is one for those in the trenches, making the transition to adulthood. The feelings are raw and messy, the characters are all trying to figure out their own hang-ups and fears. While I do think the speed at which this volume changes tracks from action to angst is a little jarring, it serves the purpose of telling the reader very plainly that this isn't your regular shonen manga. I'm curious to see where the story goes from here and more importantly if Itagaki can maintain the balance of comedy, action and drama that the first two volumes have clearly shown are important to the tale she's trying to tell. I hope with the book's third volume I'll be rewarded with more of the book's quirky charm and get to unwrap some more of the series' mysteries, but l'm also equally prepared I might not find what I was expecting under the tree... - Mat
December 4, 2025 at 8:01 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
APPLESEED!!!
December 2, 2025 at 8:15 PM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
It’s an excellent series and with the final volume out now, you’ve got no excuse not to go read it all!

Thanks to the folks a Tokyo Pop for providing a digital review copy while I await for the physical one I preordered to arrive!
Closing image of Shuuko looking shocked
November 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
I’m sad to see this series end, but excited to see what Tsuno does next! Their writing and characters are excellent, so I hope we get more of their work in English!
What surprised me even more is that despite liking the previous volumes a lot, I don't exactly relate particularly strongly with any one character. I really had to sit and think about why I felt this way, and the conclusion I reached is it's because this is perhaps one of the most sincere books on friendship and romance that I've had the pleasure of reviewing since starting the podcast. More importantly, it may even be one of the most unique. The story picks up where the last volume ended: Shuuko is still considering what romance means to her and Misaki is head over heels for her new guy. Eika's hard work is finally beginning to bear fruit and with this success comes the possibility of a transfer. With everyone else potentially moving on, Shio has to wrestle with her independence and future plans when it seems she might have to actually live all on her own, despite the warning from the book's title! Suffice to say, the stakes are high and I honestly worried that Tsuno would run out of pages before managing to bring the book to a satisfying ending. This feeling was at least partially right. As with the previous volumes, some things wrap up a little too neatly and Shio once again suffers the consequences of being the fourth priority character in the story, despite ending in a seemingly happy place. The biggest surprise for me though was Shuuko's journey through the story and where she ends up. Her rejection of Minami in the previous volume as someone who doesn't make her heart race leads her to some pretty profound realisations about her own emotions and desires for the future. Where those thoughts lead her in this 3rd volume and the questions it makes her ask were so surprising to me that I still can't articulate my own feelings towards them: what I do know though is for someone out there, this book will not only be external validation for their own feelings towards love and romance, but could potentially be a life raft as they figure it out. As the other leading ladies get somewhat satisfying, but predictable conclusions to their own stories, I find the real reason I wasn't ready for this book to end: I want to hear what else Tsuno has to say about work, love and happiness. I want to know where Eika's work struggles might have led her, the problems Misaki might have had with her seemingly perfect new man, and how poor Shio would actually feel about the dissolution of the shared home and her quest for independence once she finds herself living on her own. It's therefore perhaps a little bittersweetly that I say that You Can't Live All on Your Own is one of my favourite books of 2025. If you're looking for a short but considered Josei about growing older, go read this book. If you wrestle with the idea of romance in the face of societal expectations, go read this book. If you're looking for an exciting new voice in manga, go read this book. As I put the 3rd volume on my shelf and tick it off as 'completed', I'll likely still be wrestling with my own feelings towards Shuuko's conclusions and what the book has to say about love for sometime to come. One thing's for certain though: I will eagerly await the next work of Mizoko Tsuno with bated breath so I can hear more of what they have to say. - Mat
November 19, 2025 at 6:29 PM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
If you dont mind reading digital, I think I got all 6 volumes out atm on Kindle for about £26?
November 9, 2025 at 3:50 PM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
Glad you’re enjoying it! It’s one of my cozy reads! Also just binged Touring After the Apocalypse after last weeks pod too which is some good Sci-fi slice of life!
November 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
Or do a Combini lottery! A / B prizes for days!
November 6, 2025 at 4:34 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
I’ve seen many versions of this image so apologies for not remembering the source, but it goes without saying that he IS the face of so many leading characters in anime and manga
October 28, 2025 at 5:58 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
Maybe I’ll do a short insta reel on the books you can buy in Combinis lol… I’ve had a few people ask me to do one on book shopping in general in Japan, so maybe it’d be helpful to folks… and also shock them to see the cover of Young Jump xD
October 26, 2025 at 3:57 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
Strangely enough, I have seen Champion here and there! It’s never on the rack but on the shelf below lol…
October 26, 2025 at 1:58 AM
mangatakpod.bsky.social
It does feel like atm the print runs are so small, you need to grab magazines when you see them! The only one I can reliably find is Jump, but even that isn’t a certainty in the bigger cities!
October 26, 2025 at 1:54 AM