What Manga are you reading?

[mysngoeshere56]

I finished the Sailor Moon manga (yep - the whole thing) and started Bleach. ^_^

[MasterDias]

Bloody Monday volumes 10-11
Finally finished this. Overall, it was a solid series.
Although, I do take issue with spoilers on volume covers...and on Wikipedia...but whatever...

Maximum Ride volume 1
Read this mostly because of the library.

[Blacklight]

I decided to read Princess Tutu, (because 1 I watched an AMV that was... in short, amazing, and 2 the anime got a 10/10 rating in the reviews section. I am only hoping that even though it's only two volumes, that it's a complete series, and that it's not... let's see... bad.)
(I know that manga and anime, even though they may have the same name, and the same basic plot and the same characters, it can be COMPLETELY different.)

Wow, that was lengthy for just one manga...

I've got FMA 3(to), Tsubasa 8(have) and 9(to), InuYasha 7(to) and others I don't remember.

[Derek_Is_Me]

Vampire Doll

[Maokun]

Every time you post about this manga I have the urge to drop some mysterious hint, but I have managed to stop myself so far. After all, at the rate you are reading 20th CB you will find out for yourself pretty soon anyways and something this good is better experienced with no prior knowledge. However, after considerable thought I must say this:

"Ha!"

Enjoy the ride, you won't find another manga like 20th CB.

Yeah, finished it (and 21th CB as well) and obviously my reasoning was wrong, though [spoiler]I did guess that Sadayiko was still alive. However Katsumata-kun as "friend" is not really satisfactory, it opened up more questions that which it solved. And I have to say I didn't find the last volumes as enjoyable as the first ones. [/spoiler] However, it is indeed one of the best manga out there.

[Fish and Chips]

Yeah, finished it (and 21th CB as well) and obviously my reasoning was wrong, though [spoiler]I did guess that Sadayiko was still alive. However Katsumata-kun as "friend" is not really satisfactory, it opened up more questions that which it solved. And I have to say I didn't find the last volumes as enjoyable as the first ones. [/spoiler] However, it is indeed one of the best manga out there.

I'm more disappointed in that[spoiler]We even learn who the second Friend was, because I honest don't think it matters. The entire point of the character was that he gave up his identity to become someone else, and to that end who he was before taking up after Fukubei is irrelevant. He abandoned himself completely, entirely. I would have much preferred it if we had never learned who he was, just some nameless, faceless man who took up the mantel.[/spoiler]

[Maokun]

I'm more disappointed in that[spoiler]We even learn who the second Friend was, because I honest don't think it matters. The entire point of the character was that he gave up his identity to become someone else, and to that end who he was before taking up after Fukubei is irrelevant. He abandoned himself completely, entirely. I would have much preferred it if we had never learned who he was, just some nameless, faceless man who took up the mantel.[/spoiler]

I agree. Unfortunately that wouldn't have possible, since [spoiler]Katsumata wasn't being "friend", he was just taking advantage of the power he had gained to exact his childish reven in Kenji, putting Kenji at the center of the story again. Actually I was a bit disappointed with that too. I would have preferred that Kenji never came back]

[ich1990]

I agree. Unfortunately that wouldn't have possible, since [spoiler]Katsumata wasn't being "friend", he was just taking advantage of the power he had gained to exact his childish reven in Kenji, putting Kenji at the center of the story again. Actually I was a bit disappointed with that too. I would have preferred that Kenji never came back]

[spoiler]If Kenji had never come back we would never have had those awesome scenes where he uses the power of music to bring gunmen to their knees. For that reason alone I am willing to accept a little lack of believability when it comes to his amnesia. That being said, some other explanation would probably have suited me better.

I don't know about Kanna being the centerpiece of the story, though. She did have superpowers, and she did get most of the screen time during the middle portions of the story. Nonetheless, her actions where based on Kenji's presence in her psyche more than her own thoughts. She listened to his one song a million times, after all, and thus "absorbed" his mentality from his music. This reminds me of Plato who wanted music to be regulated by the government because it was so capable of affecting change (or inciting rebellion). Thus, she essentially was Kenji when Kenji was not around.

Lastly, I would like to point out that we don't know if the second Friend is Katsumata. It is implied that it is, but there is room for doubt. Even if it is Katsumata, however, he is never once shown in the manga. That is pretty close to being "faceless". There is some relation to Katsumata “dyingâ€

[mysngoeshere56]

Finished the first FMA and the third Tokyo Mew Mew volumes.

[Maokun]

[spoiler]I don't know about Kanna being the centerpiece of the story, though. She did have superpowers, and she did get most of the screen time during the middle portions of the story. Nonetheless, her actions where based on Kenji's presence in her psyche more than her own thoughts. She listened to his one song a million times, after all, and thus "absorbed" his mentality from his music. This reminds me of Plato who wanted music to be regulated by the government because it was so capable of affecting change (or inciting rebellion). Thus, she essentially was Kenji when Kenji was not around.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Yeah, it's not that I particularly preferred Kanna as a main character instead of Kenji; rather that most of the characters made it appear as if Kanna would have a really big role in the climax of the story. The phrase "Kanna is our last hope" was uttered in several occasions by several different characters so the nil outcome of those expectations came as a dissappointment.
[/spoiler]

[quote][spoiler]Lastly, I would like to point out that we don't know if the second Friend is Katsumata. It is implied that it is, but there is room for doubt. Even if it is Katsumata, however, he is never once shown in the manga. That is pretty close to being "faceless". There is some relation to Katsumata “dyingâ€

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I just finished reading Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou yesterday. It's very pretty, and builds atmosphere better than almost any other manga I've encountered. Unfortunately, the plot (what little there is) never goes anywhere and lacks any kind of conclusion. Too bad.

[blkmage]

I just finished reading Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou yesterday. It's very pretty, and builds atmosphere better than almost any other manga I've encountered. Unfortunately, the plot (what little there is) never goes anywhere and lacks any kind of conclusion. Too bad.

Isn't that the entire point of YKK (and other series like it, like Aria)? That is, there is no overarching plot, and the series is devoted to examining and exploring aspects of the world that the author has created. Apparently, there's an entire literary concept in Japanese devoted to these sorts of works called mono no aware.

I haven't read YKK yet (a wrong that I plan to correct sometime in the future), but I have read Aria, which I hear is very similar in style. I can't say that I can envision Aria in such a way that there's something that drives a plot arc while keeping the sense of amazement and wonder with just observing things and exploring places.

[RobinSena]

I finally got around to reading through all seven volumes of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I'm not sure why it's taken so long, but at least I've finally finished it. Truly epic series, in the literal meaning of the word. Miyazaki is truly a genius.

[blkmage]

So there's a fairly old (ongoing since 1997) manga that's just being started to get scanlated called Q.E.D. The main characters are two fourteen year-old high school kids, Touma and Kana. Kana is an athletic and energetic girl, while Touma is an MIT grad and is going to high school to experience the Japanese high school life that he never had. Essentially, they go around solving a bunch of mystery cases, which Wikipedia tells us ranges from murder to fraud. Touma is the brains of the pair, while Kana is the brawn. Apparently, some of the cases are pretty heavy in math and science (the manga is titled Q.E.D. after all), so I'm looking forward to those.

The manga is split up into cases which are about 90 pages in length. So far, only two cases are out, though there are two groups working together to get them done. I just finished the second case, which had a pretty neat twist that I wasn't expecting and is compelling me to tell everyone about this neat little series.

Beyond the mystery aspect, I hear that the character and relationship development for Touma and Kana is also a great part of the series and is something I'm looking forward to. Also of note is the fact that they solve these things as partners and not as master detective and plunky sidekick.

The manga is currently unlicensed. I believe it won an award last year for something to do with shounen manga (which is how I heard about it and have been waiting since that day for it to get translated eventually) and likely has won more awards than that (since it's been running so long).

[Shao Feng-Li]

Fullmetal Alchemist volume 2

[Wyntre Rose]

Read the last chapter of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles.

[spoiler] Not really happy that it's left so open ended - quite the bittersweet ending. Sakura being separated from everyone is sad. The clones and Watanuki's endings are sad. BUT Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane are still traveling together. And I've been thinking all this time: if only they don't do some huge mind bending reveal that Fei Wong is really Watanuki or Doumeki from the future, I'll be happy. Of course, xxxHolic is still ongoing, so we have no idea what'll happen there (personally, I'm hoping for a full, and happy, resolution to all storylines...). I guess I'll just have to keep reading, right? Sigh...geez I hope xxxHolic doesn't take too much longer!! [/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

Steel Ball Run vol. 13

Araki just keeps getting better and better. It's going to be very difficult for his next arc/series to top all the crazy action he has going on in here.

[Arya Raiin]

FMA 1-6 (LOVE IT!!~)

Immortal Rain 3

[Song_of_Storms]

[SIZE="1"]Otomen ~ vol. 3

Haruka: Beyond the stream of Time ~ vol. 5

La Corda d'Oro ~ Vol. 2 [/SIZE]

[blkmage]

Read Koko ni Iru Yo!, a fairly short and recent shoujo manga about a lonely middle school girl blogger with internet friends who ends up being the love interest of the two most popular guys in her class. The girl + two popular guys love triangle setup reminded me of Moe Kare, except instead of "kyaaa I want a boyfriend like a prince" it was more "I am lonely and self-effacing, someone please notice me" and instead of perfect guy and jerkface cooldude with troubled past, we have perfect guy and niceguy cooldude with troubled past.

This isn't a particularly complex or deep story and is fairly average shoujo stuff, but it's short (19 chapters), so whatever. If you have time to kill, you could do worse.

[uc pseudonym]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

Finally got around to going through this. Not my favorite subseries by a long shot, but I think a step up from the previous two, though my view may be biased due to the last fight.

Steel Ball Run Volumes 8-13

Caught up here as well. Business as usual for JJBA, but I like the strengthening plot. Of this segment, I thought the most interesting action was surrounding the rain-controlling character as opposed to some of the other abilities (certainly the Sugar Mountain arc). Also, too bad about everyone's favorite horseless competitor; I wanted to see more of him.

[blkmage]

You know what was disappointing? The last chapter of Nodame Cantabile. That sure wasn't a very satisfying way to end a great series.

[MasterDias]

Rave Master - Volumes 31-35
Finally finished this. This is actually a bit nostalgic to me, since this was one of the first titles I starting reading years ago. Notably, Elie's memories were planned out before the series started. Mashima says as much in one of the author afterwords.

Afterschool Charisma - chapters 1-4
This title sort of grabbed my attention off of Viz's Ikki site.
Throw together the teenage clones of Mozart, Freud, Florence Nightingale, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon and various other historical figures in a boarding school run by people who appear to be carrying out a suspicious experiment. And then John F. Kennedy's clone is assassinated...
It's interesting, but I'm not completely sure where it's going.

[blkmage]

So I checked out Medaka Box (something I'd been meaning to do since it's one of the few NisiOisiN works I can actually read) and it started off pretty amusing, but took a really weird turn later on into something that I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy.

[ich1990]

Following up on Fish's recommendation and UC's endorsement:

Steel Ball Run vol. 1-2

As my first introduction to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, this story is kind of a shock. I mean, I expected it to be weird, but I didn't quite expect this. The art is the most surprising, I didn't expect it to be so chaotic, confusing, and all around unusual. I think I am starting to get the hang of it though. I didn't even bat an eye when a character tripped his horse so that it landed on a dead cow carcass so that he could use it to sled down a hill so his horse could rest and then sprint ahead of the other racers when he hit the bottom.

[Fish and Chips]

Also, too bad about everyone's favorite horseless competitor]I had a thought you'd comment on this. The feeling is mutual, though not a bad send off in my opinion.

Caught up here as well. Business as usual for JJBA, but I like the strengthening plot. Of this segment, I thought the most interesting action was surrounding the rain-controlling character as opposed to some of the other abilities (certainly the Sugar Mountain arc).

My interest in the Sugar Mountain arc is more because I'd been browsing RAWs for so long, I could finally figure out what was going on in those panels. Without dialogue it's quite incomprehensible, even by JoJo's lofty standards of weirdness. And also, I found Tattoo You! to be an interesting side ability.

Following up on Fish's recommendation and UC's endorsement:

Steel Ball Run vol. 1-2

As my first introduction to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, this story is kind of a shock. I mean, I expected it to be weird, but I didn't quite expect this. The art is the most surprising, I didn't expect it to be so chaotic, confusing, and all around unusual. I think I am starting to get the hang of it though. I didn't even bat an eye when a character tripped his horse so that it landed on a dead cow carcass so that he could use it to sled down a hill so his horse could rest and then sprint ahead of the other racers when he hit the bottom.

Welcome to the wonderful world of whatever Araki apparently feels like drawing this week. Or month, rather.

[onecool_girl]

Attempting to finish Fruits Basket (no monies for more volumes )
Working on:
-Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
-Mixed Vegetables
-The Legend of Zelda

(a few more that I borrow once in a while from the library, but these are my 'full-time' ones )

[ScalpelFactory]

I'm rereading DOGS: Bullets & Carnage by Shirow Miwa, as well as catching up on Kuroshitsuji {Black Butler} by Toboso Yana, and dabbling in Gunslinger Girl [I've seen the entire anime, so I figured why not?].

[uc pseudonym]

As my first introduction to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, this story is kind of a shock. I mean, I expected it to be weird, but I didn't quite expect this. The art is the most surprising, I didn't expect it to be so chaotic, confusing, and all around unusual. I think I am starting to get the hang of it though.

Reading from the beginning eases you into the overall style a bit, but yes, welcome aboard. I find that my eye adjusts to the art style after a while, which is why I tend to read the series in large batches.

My interest in the Sugar Mountain arc is more because I'd been browsing RAWs for so long, I could finally figure out what was going on in those panels. Without dialogue it's quite incomprehensible, even by JoJo's lofty standards of weirdness. And also, I found Tattoo You! to be an interesting side ability.

You know, I think those chapters would have been far more entertaining without the text. Just thinking about that is amusing me as I type. But since we're talking about this in more depth: yes, I did like that ability. I tend to enjoy those that have a variety of applications more than abilities that create new rules and take over the story for a while.

So I checked out Medaka Box (something I'd been meaning to do since it's one of the few NisiOisiN works I can actually read) and it started off pretty amusing, but took a really weird turn later on into something that I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy.

Every week I think about dropping the series, but I end up with enough time to at least skim the pages. Since I wasn't exactly reading it I didn't mention it here, in part because I wasn't sure I wanted to promote it, but since you mentioned it I'll say a few things.

It looks like our opinions are pretty much opposite. My only real interest was the idea of a omni-competent character, and I found the humor a bit wearing. Likewise, the Enforcers arc was disappointing. But the recent chapters' inclusion of the absolute failure character as well as the idea of "genius" as an actual force is just enough to make me interested again.

[Kung_Fu_Master]

Fairy Tail- a neat series made by the person who made Rave Master