I haven’t completed this issue yet, but here are my thoughts so far. The opening essay by Shamoon is brilliant. I love how she traces the history of shojo and enlightens us to the cultural influences of that genre. I learned a lot and have a better appreciation for the manga I read because of this article.

The second essay by Toku and the fourth essay by Kotani are atrocious. I don’t think that either should have seen print. Toku has been a constant disappointment to me. Her writings are neither well written nor reasoned. She really needs an editor. The same goes for Kotani. I thought about a third of her essay was unnecessary information. It made the essay feel unfocused.

I liked Mizuno’s essay. I might not agree with everything, but he did a good job supporting his interpretation. He presents some interesting ideas.

Overall, I would say about half of this issue is garbage. The problem with a new journal in a new academic field is that they don’t have much room to be selective. I would rather see a much slimmer volume, than one with such uneven quality. I think Mechademia should seek to set a standard of excellence for this new field of study. It might mean hurting some feelings, but better that than having the field become the laughing stock of academia.

No. It ran in Shonen Sunday.