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This is the podcast-only version of the [misadventures in taiwan] blog.
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-- a detective series called 金田一少年之事件簿/ Young Kindaichi/ Kindaichi Case Files (read all. there were about 20 books in the series). pretty fun reading except a lot of the plots seem rehashed from '60s american pulp crime fiction.
-- these two are both written by Hirokane Kenshi. the one on the left is about a japanese salaryman in middle management (but on his way up the corporate ladder). the english title on the 課長島耕作 cover is "Function of Success" but it's called "Division Chief Kosaku Shima" on amazon.
-- Confession/ 自白(another source translates it as 告白) by Nobuyuki Fukumoto was really good. the whole story (it's just one comic book, not a series) features the two characters on the cover bluffing each other. each suspects the other of wanting to kill him. it's very well written and well-drawn. it's not formulaic like most of the action/ adventure- themed comics on this list tend to be. one of my favorites too.
-- Dragon Head/ 末日 (in chinese) (the literal translation of the chinese title is something like "End Days"/ "End of Days")/ ドラゴンヘッド (Japanese) by Minetaro Mochizuki is about a bunch of people fending for their lives after Mt Fuji erupts and buries the whole of Japan. bleak, apocalyptic landscape. read all the books in the series. this one's rated "adult/ mature" for some reason. violence perhaps?
--- the Psychometrer Eiji (Psycho Metror Eiji or Psychometric Eiji from some other internet sources)/ 感應少年 (chinese) comic book series is about a boy who possesses some form of ESP. it's an adventure/ detective series. pretty light reading and fun. the plots are better than Young Kindaichi (see above). about 20 books in the series. read all of them.
-- Homunculus/ 異變者 (chinese)/ ホムンクルス (Japanese) is about a guy who undergoes a trepanation and then gains heightened sensory powers. i've read all 5 books in this short series.
-- Gallery Fake/ 真相之眼 (chinese)/ ギャラリーフェイク (Japanese) is a series about an art dealer who sells fake art in his gallery and real art in the black market. pretty fun to read. lots of action and adventure. i'm halfway through this series as of this writing (jan. 21, 2006).

