The latest Manga Guide to science covers Molecular Biology, the study of cells, genes, DNA, and their behavior. It’s an intimidating subject, treated in a fanciful way to make it more comprehensible by writer Masaharu Takemura and artist Sakura. The framing premise follows Ami and Rin, two college students about to flunk their molecular biology course because they never go to class. Their professor sends them to make-up classes on his private island (must be nice!), where they use a […]

The Manga Guide to Calculus written by Hiroyuki Kojima; art by Shin Togami As I’ve read more of this series, I’ve come to appreciate better what they’re doing. I’ve found most of them fun ways to brush up on technical subjects. And the more imaginative and developed the framing story is, the more interested I am. A book that says “Girl student needs to study and here’s what she learns” isn’t as involving as, for example, “Princess needs to save […]

Followup to my review of The Manga Guide to Physics recommended this installment of the series because it featured a female instructor instead of the usual boy-helping-girl setup. The Manga Guide to Databases, written by Mana Takahashi and drawn by Shoko Azuma, is also more imaginative in its premise, going far beyond the usual “schoolgirl needs help in class”. The Kingdom of Kod sells its fruit, and in her father’s absence, Princess Ruruna is in charge. Various departments of the […]

I wasn’t all that impressed by an earlier book in this series, The Manga Guide to Statistics, but I found this volume by Hideo Nitta and Keita Takatsu a big improvement. Like all the books in this series, The Manga Guide to Physics is written by an expert; in this case, a physics professor from Tokyo Gakugei University who is also a member of the International Commission on Physics Education. That means the explanations of mechanics are right on, as […]

The Manga Guide to Statistics promises to combine education with entertainment, teaching “statistics with heart-pounding excitement!” That seems a bit much for a math comic book, but it refers to the storyline driving the lessons. When Rui first meets her father’s co-worker, Mr. Igarashi, who uses statistics in market research, she develops an instant crush. She asks her dad for a statistics tutor in order to get closer to him. Instead, she winds up with Mr. Yamamoto, a younger geek, […]