Today’s stream was going to be a live reaction to the newest “Spy x Family” manga.
Unfortunately, I have to cancel today.
And I may have to skip next weekend as well.
But below are the scripted parts I intended for today’s livestream.
If I do get to write any response to today’s new “Spy x Family” chapter, I’ll include them in a separate post.
Pre-Recording Talk
Hey, everyone. I’m Derek, my pronouns are he, him, his. This is the 70th episode of Sunday Morning Manga.
We’ll get started in a moment, with a live reaction to the newest release of the Spy x Family manga.
While I’m setting up, feel free to drop some questions in the chat. I’ll answer them in between recording and at the end of the stream.
Disclaimers
Onto this episode’s disclaimers…
Anti-Bigotry Disclaimer
This is an anti-bigotry space: I oppose and denounce any form of bigotry, discrimination, or intolerance, as these are threats to the safety and well-being of every single person on this planet, especially people marginalized because of their identity, and these threats run counter to what my country, the United States, claims it cares about: diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Any audience comments that express hate, prejudice, intolerance, or discrimination against any individual or group (on the basis of, but not limited to, their race, ethnicity, religion, nation of origin, gender, or sexuality) will be deleted by me from the comments section.
None of this is at all to say that I don’t have prejudices and biases, especially unknowingly having them or practicing them due to how bigotry can be ingrained in institutions. And this isn’t to say that I don’t have areas where I can improve at practicing anti-bigotry. I welcome remarks that point out how I am practicing bigotry, so that I can improve at not practicing bigotry. I am interested in using this platform to engage in work to put into practice equity, diversity, and inclusion.
(And speaking of: I’m still looking for alternate platforms to host this livestream and podcast. If you have alternatives where I can host video streams and podcasts, please message me.)
Onto the next disclaimers:
Ownership Disclaimer
Sunday Morning Manga is intended for information and entertainment purposes only. It is not endorsed by any companies mentioned, any persons mentioned, or any financial contributors mentioned.
All names, pictures, and sounds are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective trademark and copyright holders.
All original content is the intellectual property of the speaker unless otherwise indicated.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any other persons mentioned in this episode.
No Paid Endorsements Disclaimer
Aside from the names of Patreon and Ko-fi contributors, other persons, businesses, organizations, or entities mentioned in this episode are not sponsors of this episode. My remarks about those persons, businesses, organizations, and entities are not paid endorsements.
Music
And I’m going to record the musical credits for the podcast earlier, as I have been behind on getting new credits recorded on recent podcasts.
Music today included the tracks:
“Los Angeles” by Muzaproduction.
“Sunshine” by lemonmusicstudio.
And “For You” by nomaBeats (Hyeon Yeong Jeon).
These tracks are royalty-free and available at Pixabay; links are in the description.
Starting the Recording
With all of this out of the way, let me cue up to record today’s livestream. I’ll read from the script, then we can get started. And as I keep recording, feel free to jump into the chat with questions, and I’ll respond to them along the way.
Okay, starting recording now.
Intro
This is Episode 70 of Sunday Morning Manga for Sunday, June 9, 2024. It is not safe for work.
Let’s get started. Welcome to Sunday Morning Manga. I am Derek S. McGrath, my pronouns are he/him/his.
Contributions
Contributions are appreciated at ko-fi.com/dereksmcgrath. Purchases from my Amazon wishlist are also appreciated.
And you can email me at derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com.
Accessibility and Links
You can find a transcript and links from today’s episode at dereksmcgrath.wordpress.com.
And speaking of the WordPress…
Now on WordPress: Why Bungo Stray Dogs Chapter 115 Sucks
Last weekend I talked about how I want to avoid negativity…so I will not make you listen to what turned into a 16-page complaint as to how badly Bungo Stray Dogs Chapter 115 turned out.
I will say, however, there is something I didn’t bring up in that lengthy rant that I will bring up here.
I talk in that rant about how Asagiri picks up and drops plotlines at random such that I can’t tell whether he is retconning what he wrote, or wanting to do something surprising instead of something expected regardless how that harms characterization and themes.
And I talk about how Atsushi is practically non-existent in what has been a story that, if he’s not the protagonist, he was a prominent viewpoint character who is otherwise discarded when his presence would clarify a lot of the new information dumped onto us because now it is Atsushi learning this along with the audience.
And I have considered how much better Bungo Stray Dogs would have been if the relationship between Fukuzawa and Fukuchi was part of the story since, I don’t know, Chapter 2, given how the anime retcons it so that Fukuchi was always hovering in the background since Fukuzawa and Ranpo first met.
All of this came to a head this weekend when I read something on Reddit by Mr_Waste_of_Bandages, about how the story could have positioned Atsushi and Fukuchi as foils to each other, which then would make Fyodor’s insistence on capturing Atsushi in the Dead Apple flashback make more sense, and would actually make the Atsushi fights against Fukuchi mean something instead of this failed attempt at making Atsushi the successor to Fukuzawa and the one to stop Fukuchi.
Anyway, enough of this complaining. If you could at least skim that lengthy rant, I would appreciate it–it is available to read at dereksmcgrath.wordpress.com.
Livestream and Podcast Info
I livestream on Sundays at 11 AM Eastern on Twitch and YouTube, @dereksmcgrath.
Podcast versions of episodes are coming–I apologize for delays.
Early access to the podcast and other works in progress (like my rant about Bungo Stray Dogs Chapter 115) are available at patreon.com/dereksmcgrath.
Next Weekend: Unknown
As for next weekend’s episode: I’m at a loss at what to talk about, so I may skip next weekend. If I do go live, it’ll be June 16 at 11 AM Eastern.
Today’s Episode: Spy x Family
Until then, today is a live reaction to the newest release of Spy x Family. The series is written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The manga is translated into English by Casey Loe, with lettering by Rina Mapa and JB. Spy x Family is licensed by Viz and can be read at viz.com.
What I don’t know is whether today is going to be Chapter 99 or another filler special art chapter.
(Also, what is it with me and timing these episodes such that I rarely do a dedicated episode to a milestone chapter, like Chapter 100? If you want to hear my rationale about that, go back to Episode 67 where I explained why I covered Blue Box Chapter 149 instead of the milestone Chapter 150.)
Recap
The last time I covered Spy x Family in a live reaction was on March 3, 2024, to talk about Chapter 95. I wasn’t a big fan about how that arc was approaching Anya’s attempt to entice Damian into a dance, even as this finally moves forward Twilight’s Strix Operation and has the surprise of Anya revealing her telekinetic ability to Damian.
The reason this arc has galled me is that the arc isn’t over: we don’t know yet whether Damian is going to believe Anya and change the status quo of the series or whether he will assume this is another lie and thus the story repeats the tiresome rough relationship between Anya and Damian.
But what has been the saving grace of this arc has been what I didn’t expect: a backstory for Anya’s teacher Henderson and Becky’s chauffeur Martha. And it is all the more impressive of a story because it fixes all that went wrong with writing Aizawa’s backstory in My Hero Academia Vigilantes. I won’t repeat the Aizawa rant; if you want to know why I didn’t like how Aizawa’s backstory was handled in the spinoff series My Hero Academia Vigilantes, please read or listen to Episode 67 of Sunday Morning Manga on May 19, 2024. I also use that episode to talk about why the Henderson and Martha backstory mostly works–so, again, I’m not going to repeat it in these preliminary remarks, you can go back to Episode 67 to listen or hear how I touch upon those details in the live reaction.
The Live Reaction Itself
In fact, let’s get on with the live reaction already.
Spy x Family is written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The manga is translated into English by Casey Loe, with lettering by Rina Mapa and JB. Spy x Family is licensed by Viz and can be read at viz.com.
[TRANSCRIPT FOR THE LIVE REACTION TO BE INCLUDED HERE]
Wrapping Up
I’ll wrap up there. Thank you for listening to another episode of Sunday Morning Manga.
What are your thoughts on the backstories given to Henderson and Martha?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section, or email me, derek.s.mcgrath@gmail.com.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Emily Lauer, Ellak Roach, and Alexis Duran
Thanks to Ko-fi and Patreon Contributors
If you like what you heard, let me know!
Contributions at ko-fi.com/dereksmcgrath and patreon.com/dereksmcgrath are appreciated.
Please include a note to let me know what you liked in the episode and what you would like to hear more of. And your contributions give you the opportunity to recommend works for me to cover each week. Thank you for your support!
Other People’s Awesome Stuff
And if you like what you heard–or didn’t like what you heard–check out other people’s awesome stuff! A blogroll of recommended people to check out is at my site, dereksmcgrath.wordpress.com.
Eve and Ichi
I again am promoting Eve and Ichi Rose on their Twitch gaming channels. They accept money contributions, they play Fortnite and recent and retro games. Check them out on Twitch, chip in a few bucks to them–links to their Twitch channels where to watch and contribute are the description.
One More Thing…
And one more thing before we wrap up…
The anniversary of D-Day, the pivotal turn of victory by the United States and allies against the Nazis and the fascist, was June 6.
On the anniversary of D-Day, Joe Biden gave a compelling speech. And it was a speech that convinces me that a vote for Democrats is a vote against fascism, that a vote for Democrats is a vote against Russia’s unjust assault on Ukrainians, that a vote for Democrats is a vote to stop Netanyahu’s genocidal attack on Palestinians and a vote to save the lives of Israelis and Palestinians from the madness of Netanyahu and the madness of Hamas.
Joe Biden spoke at the D-Day anniversary to remind us that the United States must oppose fascism. And we can oppose fascism by voting for Democrats. Please listen to Biden’s speech–link is in the description.
Joe Biden gave that speech the same day that orange Nazi, that convicted felon, that adjudicated rapist, that Republican piece of shit, was courting the vote for fascism, after he has repeatedly skipped D-Day memorial events to instead call veterans “suckers and losers,” mock veterans, and repeatedly denigrate the United States by saying practically only lies and insults about all that it is good about the country.
(And this Republican piece of shit is too stupid to know which state he’s in: he was speaking in Arizona, he said he was in Texas. Dumb fuck.)
As Paul Begala put it, that orange Republican piece of shit is in it only for himself, Biden is in it for us.
That orange Republican piece of shit is in it to avoid prison for what crimes he was convicted of.
(And, at the same time, that orange Republican piece of shit intends to let police do harm to you and lets his Republican Party boo January 6 Capitol police officers who fought to protect the United States from a goddamn insurrection and his shitty Supreme Court judge flies the flags of goddamn insurrectionists.)
That orange Republican piece of shit only cares about getting out of jail–while he appoints judges that would put you in jail for getting an abortion, while his judges gear up to take away your right to contraception, your right to same-sex marriage, your pursuit of freedom and happiness.
Biden is protecting your right to contraception, has expanded LGBTQ+ rights, is going to protect your right to an abortion.
And that’s not even mentioning how Biden has canceled your student debt–while Republicans want to prevent you from reading the books you want to read.
Biden did all of that for you; that orange Republican piece of shit did that abuse to you. Those Republicans want you dead–by guns, by pollution, by police violence, by fascism–and the only acceptable way to stop them is with your vote.
Vote for Democrats: they’re in it for you.
And we can improve this nation only if you in all parts of the United States–including all 50 states–turn every part of this nation blue, from the White House and the Congress and the Supreme Court down to the states legislatures, the governorships, the city councils, the offices of mayor, the school boards.
If you can register to vote, you need to campaign, fundraise, and vote! Check your voter registration at vote.org, campaign for Democrats at postcardstovoters.org, and vote for Democrats. And check out links for donating to ActBlue as well as at Daily Kos for state and local races.
Next Time: Unknown
That’s all for this weekend.
Next episode: I’m at a loss at what to talk about, so I may skip next weekend. If I do go live, it’ll be June 16 at 11 AM Eastern. Schedule updates will be posted at youtube.com/dereksmcgrath.
Until next time, as I say each week:
If you can register to vote, check your voter registration at vote.org, campaign for Democrats at postcardstovoters.org, vote for Democrats…
And stay safe out there, people: make sure to mask up, get vaccinated, install adblockers, prevent artificial intelligence from stealing your work, register to vote, campaign against fascism and against war and against ethnic cleansing and against genocide and against terrorism, and learn and practice anti-bigotry.
I’ve been Derek S. McGrath. You have a good afternoon. Bye.
Links from Today’s Episode
My Links
Series Discussed
Read Spy x Family at viz.com
Others’ Links
Vote for, Donate to, and Campaign for Democrats
Joe Biden speech on anniversary of D-Day
Republican piece of shit is too stupid to know which state he’s in
Paul Begala: Biden is in it for us
Orange Republican piece of shit intends to let police do harm to you
Republican Party boos January 6 Capitol police officers
Shitty Supreme Court judge flies the flags of goddamn insurrectionists
Republicans want to prevent you from reading the books you want to read
Music
“Los Angeles” by Muzaproduction
“Sunshine” by lemonmusicstudio
“For You” by nomaBeats (Hyeon Yeong Jeon)
Derek S. McGrath 