What Manga are you reading?

[minakichan]

Question: is anyone here reading Psyren other than MasterDias and I? I think it's very likely I'll have some thoughts concerning these chapters, but if there's only two of us PM is the way to go. This had better not get canceled.

I uh, read the first chapter, or perhaps it was only the first couple pages. Can't remember. I don't think I was completely blown away (although the main character seems fun); would you recommend the series?

(I think I stopped reading it because the scanlation was in Comic Sans or something.)

[uc pseudonym]

Kekkaishi Volumes 1-2

The cover is really generic shonen, so I didn't give it a second glance the first time I saw it. A friend has recommended it since, so I decided to give it a shot. My opinion is reserved until I have read more.

[quote="minakichan"]I uh, read the first chapter, or perhaps it was only the first couple pages. Can't remember. I don't think I was completely blown away (although the main character seems fun)]
It's too early to tell. Also, I don't think the beginning is very strong, so give it some time.

But it is the first new series in a long time that has captured my interest. The genre is definitely shonen, but I think it shows signs of having a solid plot and decent overall structure. I'm also glad to see characters that are a shade more intelligent than usual; they don't magically get super powered in the first conflict, but instead have to win by using what they have strategically. I can only hope this style will continue as the series develops.

[uc pseudonym]

Kekkaishi Volumes 3-5

The plot is developing much to slow for my taste, but it seems interesting things are to come.

Wanted!

It's a volume of oneshots by Oda. Mildly entertaining, but I'm glad he's spent most of his career working on One Piece.

[uc pseudonym]

Kekkaishi Volumes 6-11

Interesting things were to come.

Mx0 Volume 1

This series struck me as the tired shonen/comedy/romance formula, but a friend recommended it. While it has yet to impress me, I do see the merit they mentioned: the main character is pretty good at bluffing his way through things.

[yukoxholic]

Let's see I am currently reading:

XXXHolic Volume 11 (only two volumes left until it's over!! )
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Volume 16
Yotsuba&! Volume 6
Love*Com Volume 5

Kekkaishi Volumes 6-11

YaY! Another fellow Kekkaishi reader! ^__^ Although it kind of reminds me of Bleach with a hint of Naruto (which aren't really my favs) I still love this manga!

[Sakura15]

Bleach and Love Com

[Aileen Kailum]

Ouran High School Host Club volumes 8 and 10.

[uc pseudonym]

Kekkaishi Volumes 12-14

Everything translated so far, basically. After the major arc ended I haven't been terribly impressed with new developments, but true plot elements are slowly getting underway.

Mx0 Volumes 2-6

Improving. It allows the main character to improve without losing the aspects of his limitation and avoiding conflict.

YaY! Another fellow Kekkaishi reader! ^__^ Although it kind of reminds me of Bleach with a hint of Naruto (which aren't really my favs) I still love this manga!

What I enjoy is the amount of strategy in every battle simply due to the limited ability set most of the characters possess. Until certain people arrive or Zekkai is introduced, there are really no normal physical attacks. Consequently I find Tokine more interesting than the main character; she needs to get some time in the spotlight again.

[Radical Dreamer]

Honey & Clover, vol. 1. I actually downloaded the scans for this months ago, before I knew it was licensed, but never got around to reading them. XD I'm enjoying it so far, though--it's similar to the anime in many regards. The sketchy art style isn't my favorite, but it fits with the feel of the series, so it's fine. XD Looking forward to collecting the rest of this as it's released.

[minakichan]

Mx0 is a bit formulaic shounen, but it's got enough twists and interesting powers to keep my attention (the screw-joint power, and watching Kuzumi throw his head around basically hooked me in the very first chapter XD). It's the only Jump series I'm really following.

Finished Charisma Doll, 2 volumes. No originality whatsoever, but some elements were a little atypical of similar stories-- anti-drug campaigning and stardom scandals aren't that common in juvenile shoujo. Still, I was looking for some good escapism genderbending and it really hit the spot.

[ich1990]

Question: is anyone here reading Psyren other than MasterDias and I? I think it's very likely I'll have some thoughts concerning these chapters, but if there's only two of us PM is the way to go. This had better not get canceled.

I have started reading it, although I am not even a dozen chapters in yet. So far it looks promising. If a thread were started, I would probably not comment on it very much, but I would enjoy reading other people's thoughts on the story.

[jon_jinn]

Vinland Saga volume 1

an interesting series from the author of Planetes. the series sorta reminds me of Berserk, though not nearly as explicit in its content.

[MasterDias]

Kekkaishi Volumes 12-14

Everything translated so far, basically. After the major arc ended I haven't been terribly impressed with new developments, but true plot elements are slowly getting underway.

I've been reading this one for awhile. It's pretty popular in Japan, but I guess it's not flashy enough for western audiences. The story does develop pretty slowly though. And, yeah, Tokine is a good heroine]Mx0 Volumes 2-6

Improving. It allows the main character to improve without losing the aspects of his limitation and avoiding conflict.[/QUOTE]
This series struck me as slightly schizophrenic as if the author can't completely decide whether he wants to focus on romantic comedy or fantasy/action. The magic cards are neat though...



Anyway, over the past month or so, I've read:

Houshin Engi, Volume 2

Monster, Volume 11
-Still liking, although it did take me a bit to remember all of the subplots.

Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Volumes 2 & 3
-Action/horror series. Still mostly "monster-of-the-week" stories but hints
of a larger plot. And they have already introduced who I assume is the main villain so...

Anuki, Volumes 1-7
-I haven't really read a lot of manhwa, but this one was pretty good. Sort of a historical action/drama involving a war and biplanes. The ending felt really abrupt however.

Shaman King, through Volume 30
-I'm not too impressed with the resolution to the whole Mansumi Oyamada situation. As if we needed yet another demonstration of how powerful Hao is.
Although, perhaps by this point, Takei suspected it was going to be cancelled and was trying to rush things.

Stay Dog/Souten no Koumori - One shots be Arakawa

Urooboe Uroboros - One shot by Obata and Nisio Isin

[Fish and Chips]

Soul Eater vol. 1

Not sure what to think of this one. Has a certain bizarre charm to it, but the gratuitous fanservice is annoying. Easily a monster of the week Shounen. Might give it another volume to prove itself, but I could just as easily forget about it.

Stay Dog/Souten no Koumori - One shots be Arakawa

How did you find them? I tend to wish Souten had been her second series instead of Juushin Enbu.

[uc pseudonym]

Mx0 is a bit formulaic shounen, but it's got enough twists and interesting powers to keep my attention (the screw-joint power, and watching Kuzumi throw his head around basically hooked me in the very first chapter XD). It's the only Jump series I'm really following.

I'm essentially with you. Not that amazing, but still interesting. I've read through volume nine and I think I'm up to date with the current chapters.

I have started reading it, although I am not even a dozen chapters in yet. So far it looks promising. If a thread were started, I would probably not comment on it very much, but I would enjoy reading other people's thoughts on the story.

There are only fourteen chapters in Japan, so you might have read most of it. Do we have enough people for a thread? Is Fish reading? It doesn't have to be a heavily-used one, but it might be nice to have a place to discuss occasionally.

I've been reading this one for awhile. It's pretty popular in Japan, but I guess it's not flashy enough for western audiences. The story does develop pretty slowly though. And, yeah, Tokine is a good heroine]
Masamori is basically my favorite character, actually. His political dealings with the group of 12 are much more interesting than the vague clues the protagonist is getting about the school.

Shaman King, through Volume 30
-I'm not too impressed with the resolution to the whole Mansumi Oyamada situation. As if we needed yet another demonstration of how powerful Hao is.
Although, perhaps by this point, Takei suspected it was going to be cancelled and was trying to rush things.

I'm not sure what the point of this arc was at all. It felt awkward and strange to me from the beginning.

Soul Eater vol. 1

Not sure what to think of this one. Has a certain bizarre charm to it, but the gratuitous fanservice is annoying. Easily a monster of the week Shounen. Might give it another volume to prove itself, but I could just as easily forget about it.

For whatever it is worth, the fanservice goes away fairly quickly and the series gets a main antagonist. I've been following this one for a while, not particularly impressed but interested in aforementioned charm.

[MasterDias]

Masamori is basically my favorite character, actually. His political dealings with the group of 12 are much more interesting than the vague clues the protagonist is getting about the school.

For awhile, I wasn't sure if he was a good guy or not, given how manipulative and sinister he was on some of his appearances.

Anyway...

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 6

[Aileen Kailum]

Fruits Basket volume 19 and Fullmetal Alchemist volume 16. Finding these made my day.

[Fish and Chips]

FullMetal Alchemist vol. 20
Pluto vol. 5

Not much to say that can be said outside of spoiler tags.

[uc pseudonym]

B-Shock Volumes 1-3

I kept reading out of morbid fascination, really. It's "seinen" only because it deals with older issues, not because the story is any better than your usual shonen romance.

[MomoAdachi]

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne #1...I'm becoming quite an Arina Tanemura-sensei fangirl!

[Sheenar]

Rereading Fruits Basket #5. My friend let me borrow #5-8, so I'm really excited to get going with the series again!!!

[uc pseudonym]

Zetman Volumes 1-3

Long ago I glanced at the first volume and left it alone. Going back, I don't know why. This is seinen the way I like to see it. It's an action story, but there really isn't a standard fight for the entire first volume. The pacing isn't slow, it just isn't as rushed as much shonen.

[Fish and Chips]

Historie volume 1

[mitsuki lover]

Will be re-reading Full Metal Panic,Overload! vol.2 tommorrow.

[Fish and Chips]

Bleach vol. 6-7
Historie vol. 2-3
Lone Wolf and Cub vol. 1

I enjoyed these two volumes of Bleach a lot, but it irks me to know Tite Kubo just lets the cast pile up without any proper "Spring cleaning."

And rounding off my historical reading with ancient Greece and feudal Japan.

[uc pseudonym]

Rikki-Oh Volumes 1-3

Seinen muscleheads kill each other. Not much thinking involved.

Angel Densetsu (complete)

Well, I have finally completed this series. He brought things to a reasonable end that let most of the characters get their final moment and was fairly fitting. I certainly hope Yagi has better things in store for Claymore, however. It's difficult to compare, because this is a comedy whereas Claymore has, you know, plot.

I enjoyed these two volumes of Bleach a lot, but it irks me to know Tite Kubo just lets the cast pile up without any proper "Spring cleaning."

If you're saying that in future tense, I agree. If you mean that just for the volumes you've read... things are about to get so much worse. Really, I'd say this is one of the major flaws that makes Bleach only decent shonen instead of a great series.

Quite some time later in the current manga, it looks like the plot will force more of the characters to actually be used. Also, if no one dies in this conflict Tite Kubo will basically have taken suspension of disbelief behind the shed and shot it repeatedly.

[Amzi Live]

I just started reading 20th Century Boys,it rocks!

[Fish and Chips]

If you're saying that in future tense, I agree. If you mean that just for the volumes you've read... things are about to get so much worse. Really, I'd say this is one of the major flaws that makes Bleach only decent shonen instead of a great series.

Yes, I'm talking in the future tense. Really, it's an enjoyable read, and I like large casts of characters, but to draw it out so long and still have all of them around is, well...I can't imagine he's using all of them enough to justify leaving them alive.

Since I've finished Rurouni Kenshin, I'll probably move Bleach up a couple notches on the priorities list till I catch up with the American release (because I'm reading it in the store).

[EricTheFred]

I just started reading 20th Century Boys,it rocks!

Just ordered a copy of Vol 1 in the original Japanese, for study purposes. It had better be as good as everyone says, because it's going to be serious work to get through it!

[jon_jinn]

Just ordered a copy of Vol 1 in the original Japanese, for study purposes. It had better be as good as everyone says, because it's going to be serious work to get through it!

ha ha. don't worry, my friend. i assure you that you will not be disappointed. if you find that the first volume is disappointing, however, keep going through the series because it gets better as it progresses.

anyways, i reread my Zombie Powder volume 1 for a light and random read.