Amalgam of Distortion: Research Notes

Tucker

Title:

• Ibitsu no Amalgam 歪のアマルガム
• …you can just call it “Amalgam of Distortion,” though, since that’s what it means
• How do you pronounce amalgam (David)? In English, it’s usually “uh-MAL-gum”
• Originally a term from alchemy meaning an alloy of mercury with another metal, nowadays it refers to any mixture of different things into a distinctly different whole. Especially when it’s a case when stuff gets smushed together in a weird way.

Author

• Ishiyama, Ryou 石山 諒（いしやま りょう）
  • Ee-shee-yah-mah, Ryo
  • When pronouncing sounds with the “ry” consonant sound, it’s best to think of it as just a “y” consonant sound that has the Japanese “r” sound right before it (which is really nothing like the English “r”....)
  • New section in Reference Notes for Japanese in General! See section on “R”! It turns out that syllables like “Ryou” are pretty much impossible to concisely represent with the English writing system!

Characters

• Kusaba, Rokumichi 久佐場 六道（くさば ろくみち）
  • Kɯ-sah-bah, Ro-kɯ-mee-chee
  • See note in Japanese Pronunciation in General section about open U, aka [ɯ]!
  • Personal name written as “six paths,” which may have significance? Maybe?
  • Ah, his experiment number is #6
• Yashiro, Fumiharu AKA Shamoji 社 文治（やしろ ふみはる）
  • Real name: Yah-shee-roe, Fɯ-mee-hah-rɯ
  • Nickname: Sha-moe-jee
  • A shamoji is apparently a wooden spoon used to serve rice.
• Hino, Ya’yo’i  火野 彌生（ひの やよい）
  • Hee-no, Yah-yoh-ee
  • Personal name “Ya’yo’i” rhymes with “David Bowie,” not “David Boy”!
  • Family name written as “fiery field,” personal name written as “full life”
• Kuromizu, Eishuu 黒水 影舟（くろみず えいしゅう）
  • Kɯ-ro-mee-zɯ, Ey-shoe
  • Family name means “black water”
• Gotou, Jirou 牛頭 次郎（ごとう じろう）
  • Go-toe, jee-row
  • Family name means “cow head” ...probably why he introduces himself as saying “my name is quite special”
  • Mash from Mashle got really tall, huh?

Other

• Gashadokuro がしゃ髑髏
  • Gah-shah-doe-kɯ-roe
  • Giant skeleton monster talked about a long time ago…I think it came up in Bone Collection?
• Rokurokubi ろくろ首
  • Roe-kɯ-roe-kɯ-bee
  • Long-necked woman youkai from folklore.
  • “Kubi” means “neck,” btw

MaxyBee

Author - Ryo Ishiyama

• Notable people they were an assistant for:
  • Eiichiro Oda (author of One Piece)
    • on One Piece, of course. Noted in an August, 2014 author comment in Weekly Shonen Jump, where Oda said: “I was wondering why Shibata and Ishiyama hadn't been coming to assist me lately, and it turns out they have new series! Good luck!!”. He did not have good luck.
  • Tomohiro Hasegawa (author of Moriking)
    • on Koi no Cupid Yakenohara Jin (credited in-volume)
• Notable people they had as assistants:
  • Kenta Yuzuriha (Story of a "Jobless" Champion and a Princess Who Together Find Their Happiness)
    • on Amalgam of Distortion (credited in vol.3)
• Other works:
  • Mitsubuki Condor (2014, 16 chapters/3 vols, Weekly Shonen Jump) flop eligible
    • Two quirky characters called Sue and Marshmallow seek out fantastic treasures in a mystical world. I am constantly under the impression you’ve already done an episode on this for some reason.
  • One Piece: Episode A (storyboards only) (2020-2021, 4 chapters/2 vols, One Piece Magazine) with Boichi
    • An adaptation of One Piece novel A by Sho Hinata and Tatsuya Hamazaki. Boichi is a busy boy, so Ishiyama storyboarded the whole series and Boichi did the final art.
  • Dragon & Chameleon (2022-present, 2 vols+, GanGan Joker)
    • A successful author swaps bodies with his cynical, evil former assistant, and battles from the rookie level upwards to prove his creative philosophy is the correct one.

Publishing

• Run Dates
  • October 8th, 2016 - February 20th, 2017
• Chapters/Volumes:
  • 18 chapters (+1 epilogue), 3 vols.
• Series it replaced:
• Takuan & Batsu’s Daily Demon Diary by Kentaro Itani (3 vols, flop)
• Series that replaced it:
  • Demon Prince Poro’s Diaries by Hitsuji Gondaira (2 vols, flop)
• Series that started at the same time as it:
  • Spring Weapon no.1 by Tomohiro Hasegawa (7 vols, did okay)

Manga Itself / Misc thoughts

• Volume extras include character profiles and little gag drawings in between chapters, as well as 4-koma, bonus drawings, and one-shots.
  • Vol.2 has the one-shot ‘Kyousei no Murasaki’, from Jump NEXT in 2015
  • Vol.3 has the one-shot ‘Ayakashi Ishoku Hen-Itai Garo’ from Weekly Shonen Jump in 2016