What Manga are you reading?

[Abi-chan]

I'm reading my brother's FMA manga. He only has 1-4, so I'm waiting for him to get the others.

[Ninety7keys]

I'm reading:
-Dengeki Daisy
-Hayate no Gotoku
-Maid-sama
-Oresama Teacher
-Kimi ni Todoke
-Ouran High School host club

Yeah, I know. I read many at the same time. XD

[AnimeGirl]

I read volume one of "Sakura-Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura" TWICE and I LOVED IT!!! I look forward to when the other volumes are released!!! The art isn't really unique, but it's beautiful and pleasing to look at all the same, but the story is AWESOME!

[Cadence]

So, I've been reading Bakuman as it is being released in the US, and read volume four yesterday. It took me thirty-six chapters to realize just how much I disliked it. I think I am done now, unless suddenly it gets a ton better.

Also, while I was hanging out at the bookstore I read solanin (...), the first volume of High School Debut (lol shoujo manga lol), and re-read the first 18 volumes (yeah, I was there for a quite a while) of Rurouni Kenshin because I could not remember where I left off the first time I tried to read it.

[MangaRocks!]

With Hiromu Arakawa's new series having started this month (...more on that in a moment ), I figured I'd also go back and try one of her older one shots; so I chose Bat In A Blue Sky. Now, I almost never read a one shot unless it's actually directly related to a series I'm already following-- so, not really having much to compare it with, I suppose all I can say is that it was fairly good. I didn't really like the end, though (but I'll fully admit that's just my personal taste there ).

That said, her new series-- Gin no Saji, a.k.a. Silver Spoon (of which I've read both currently-released chapters so far)-- has definitely been quite enjoyable all-around!

I've also recently read From Far Away (complete), which was great! I think a couple things in the last volume or two felt just slightly rushed, but that doesn't really matter much, because it was a pretty solid (and quite enjoyable) work overall (and, indeed, another favorite of mine now, too! ).

Finally, D.N.Angel (vol.'s 14 & 15): I had held off on them until now because TokyoPop was going to release those two vol.'s late this year and early next year, respectively. Since that is obviously no longer going to happen, however, I finally gave up and read the scans. Unfortunately, the translation that I found wasn't the greatest (note: slight understatement... ), which wasn't a great help in a few places ... but hey, it was sure better than nothing! *Sigh*... man, though, this is one of my favorite series-- I really hope another publisher rescues its license and continues releasing it in proper (and legally-available!) English!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I forgot to mention that I read the first three volumes of Ranma 1/2 to see if it improves at all since the first couple chapters. It doesn't, and dropped.

[Cadence]

I recently read Clover by CLAMP and quite enjoyed it. The story itself was nothing special, but the artwork was wonderful. I especially loved the panel layout. It gave the work a haunting and lonely but lovely quality.

Also, after nearly a year and a half, Amatsuki translations were finally updated. I am ecstatic. Toki is still an idiot, Bonten is still a selfish jerk, Susutake is hilarious, Kon is Kon, and Tsuyukusa is still a brat. The storytelling is every bit as hilariously "convenient" as ever. Normally this drives me crazy, but Takayama Shinobu makes it so blatantly obvious in Amatsuki that I just find it hilarious instead.

Bon: I still haven't told you everything...
Me: Heck yes, we're finally getting some answers.
Toki: That's okay; I probably wouldn't get it anyway.*derp*
Me: Never mind. Guess I have to wait another few years or so...

[airichan623]

I recently read Clover by CLAMP and quite enjoyed it. The story itself was nothing special, but the artwork was wonderful. I especially loved the panel layout. It gave the work a haunting and lonely but lovely quality.

Also, after nearly a year and a half, Amatsuki translations were finally updated. I am ecstatic. Toki is still an idiot, Bonten is still a selfish jerk, Susutake is hilarious, Kon is Kon, and Tsuyukusa is still a brat. The storytelling is every bit as hilariously "convenient" as ever. Normally this drives me crazy, but Takayama Shinobu makes it so blatantly obvious in Amatsuki that I just find it hilarious instead.

[

Love clover!! I agree about the art and panel layout. I wish they had actually finished it.

Has this 'Amatsuki' been licensed yet? I wanna read it now.

I've been reading alot of shoujo recently, but the shounen manga I recently started and am enjoying immensly is Genkaku Picasso. The manga art isnt great, but the character Picasso's drawing are beautiful, and I love the concept of it. I've always considered art to be a window to the soul, and this manga captures it perfectly.

Here's an example from one of my personal fav chapters, in which Picasso is told to help a suicidal gothic teen girl- this is the picture of her soul before she changed for the better.

[Cadence]

Has this 'Amatsuki' been licensed yet? I wanna read it now.

No, it hasn't been licensed and I would be really, really surprised if it ever was. It is a pretty niche title; English-speaking fandom for it is fairly small. Kind of a shame, since it is a lot of fun.

[Sapphire225]

Read only chapter one of Iris Zero. Seems pretty solid so far. I like the twist this manga has on common superpowers. Also about to give Higanbana No Saku Yoru Ni a try after. I heard its pretty dark.

[MangaRocks!]

Yotsuba&! vol. 2: While I thought the first volume was okay, I actually ended up enjoying this second volume a fair bit more, so I'll definitely continue it via the library for now.

Bakuman vol. 4: Great volume. Still one of my favorite series.

And the Hug! one shot by Yuka Fujiwara: I randomly ran across this by complete and total chance, and I'm quite glad I did, because I loved it! The story is about a girl who adores her cute little dog-- and then she meets a cute boy who not only has the same name as her dog, but also looks just like him and even has the same personality, too. Which then of course sets off the exact same impulses in the girl to want to hug and kiss him like she does with her dog (though her best friend restrains her when she can ). Needless to say, it's 50 or so pages of absolute adorableness :grin: -- and, obviously, another new favorite of mine.

[wildpurplechild]

11th cat Vol 1
This is a cutesy manhwa (Korean Manga) with a girl who is a wizard in training and a nekoboy gaurdian spirit. The art is not especially great (well for the guys at least, either they're too feminie or their eyes are oddly small) and the story wasn't the best ever or anything, but I liked it and I'll continue reading it for now. The characters are pretty adorable and I like reading non-mainstream stuff. This manhwa has me reminiscent over Moon Boy since it ended.

[mysngoeshere56]

Going through and re-starting some series I got pretty far into but never finished. Just finished re-reading the first volume of Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and now about to start up the first volume of Fruits Basket (again).

[Maokun]

Since I discovered my library has the missing volumes of Rozen Maiden I don't own, I've been determined to finish the series.

So far I've read v. 1-6

Definitely WAY different from the anime. I think it's a tad darker, but self-sacrifice always seems that way.

I get it's quite different from the anime stylistically, but what about the plot? I'm kind of giving up the waiting for an anime conclusion but if the manga's story is going to differ so much that it's actually not going to continue the story as I know it, I'd rather not get invested.

So I forgot to mention that I read the first three volumes of Ranma 1/2 to see if it improves at all since the first couple chapters. It doesn't, and dropped.

May I ask what did you not like of it? There's a chance that you'll like the anime, as I think it's one of the few cases where it is better than the parent manga (except for the fact that, uh, was unfinished.)

As for me, I've had in my hands a huge amount of free time for first time in a long while -hence my glorious return to these lands- and I've indulged in manga binging.

I hardcore-marathoned Bleach to the latest available chapter. As expected, it is the lesser of the holy shounen triad of current manga (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach) but it still managed to be enjoyable, though I have to wonder why it continued at all after the epic Aizen arc. Also, it's arguably the easier on the eyes of all three.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles vol 1-4. Amazing. CLAMP at it's finest. A bit shallow overally, but you can tell it becomes gradually more complex.

XXXholic vol 1-3. Good but it kind of annoys me that it's little but a companion to TRC. I hope it becomes more independent as it progresses.

Pluto complete. I posted my thoughts on it in another thread.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer vol 1-2. Following a recommendation from this forum I picked it up. I found the first chapter painfully underwhelming, but the second chapter more than made up for it. Now I'm a big fan.

[Atria35]

I get it's quite different from the anime stylistically, but what about the plot? I'm kind of giving up the waiting for an anime conclusion but if the manga's story is going to differ so much that it's actually not going to continue the story as I know it, I'd rather not get invested.

It's pretty darn different. From the last bit of the third volume on, it's darker and has more to the story. And I have the feeling the ending will be better, too.

EDIT: Discovered it isn't, but Peach-Pit has been writing the sequel since 2008. So....

[Maokun]

Different enough that matters raised by the anime will not be addressed by the manga? I just want closure!

More especifically, [spoiler]the anime ended with the destruction of the fake Bara Suisho, but at the cost of starting the Alice Game for real, which meant that Hina Ichigo and Sousei Seki died, apparently for good. And then the real Bara Suisho appeared! Are those narrative threads continuated?[/Spoiler]

[Atria35]

Different enough that matters raised by the anime will not be addressed by the manga? I just want closure!

More especifically, [spoiler]the anime ended with the destruction of the fake Bara Suisho, but at the cost of starting the Alice Game for real, which meant that Hina Ichigo and Sousei Seki died, apparently for good. And then the real Bara Suisho appeared! Are those narrative threads continuated?[/Spoiler]

I want to know too. But I'm waiting on the last two volumes. So far, it looks that way, but I won't know for sure for a while.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

May I ask what did you not like of it? There's a chance that you'll like the anime, as I think it's one of the few cases where it is better than the parent manga (except for the fact that, uh, was unfinished.)

I found it to be really annoying and I guess I was just fed up with crappy romances involving tsunderes since I'd just finished Library Wars which set a pretty high bar for romances involving tsunderes. I found the characters annoying and got really tired of the plot, and I'm not going to check out a thirty-eight volume manga when the first three have me really disliking it.

[wildpurplechild]

Second Vol of 11th Cat I liked it and there is more of Nomi the neko boy! The plot was a little confusing in this volume b/c of a rather unanouced flashback segment, but once you realize that it makes a lot more sense.

Vol 4 and 5 of Natsume's Book of Friends I love this manga so much! It's a bit episodic but all the stories are well done and interesting. I love the artwork and the humor added to it is great. Nyanko Sensei is my fav. Good kitty.

[Maokun]

I found it to be really annoying and I guess I was just fed up with crappy romances involving tsunderes since I'd just finished Library Wars which set a pretty high bar for romances involving tsunderes. I found the characters annoying and got really tired of the plot, and I'm not going to check out a thirty-eight volume manga when the first three have me really disliking it.

The anime is, I think, better paced and past the introductory episodes, it becomes as much about fighting as it is a romantic comedy. If you find it tiringly unoriginal it's likely because it was one of the series (along with Kimagure Orange Road) to popularize -if not start- several of the tropes that are abused to death in the genre nowadays. Akane is for me, THE original Tsundere, way before the word came around and thankfully, before it meant "acting disturbingly several years older than the character's actual age."

Also, the friendship-rivalship between Ranma and Ryoga it's, in my opinion, one of the best out there.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

The anime is, I think, better paced and past the introductory episodes, it becomes as much about fighting as it is a romantic comedy. If you find it tiringly unoriginal it's likely because it was one of the series (along with Kimagure Orange Road) to popularize -if not start- several of the tropes that are abused to death in the genre nowadays. Akane is for me, THE original Tsundere, way before the word came around and thankfully, before it meant "acting disturbingly several years older than the character's actual age."

Also, the friendship-rivalship between Ranma and Ryoga it's, in my opinion, one of the best out there.

It's not that I think it's cliche or unoriginal, it's that I find it incredibly grating to see "Oh, they really love each other! But then a stupid gag happens and now they hate each other!" I don't think watching the original Rie Kugimiya tsundere show is going to make me like the character type anymore than I enjoy it in Hidan no Aria, just because it's really grating.

Like I said, the night I dropped it I had just finished Library Wars which had a good romance involving a tsundere(who was a male, shockingly) but his tsundereness made sense and wasn't just a stupid gag to keep some unresolved romantic tension for thirty eight volumes.

[uc pseudonym]

I finished Kurohime. It started a weak episodic format, got a strangely worthwhile large-scale plot, and ended up being disappointing. The ending actually wasn't all that impressive, despite featuring both the caption "4.6 billion years later" and the world being cut in half by a giant sword. Maybe romantic types like the reincarnation angle, but I found it an entirely unsatisfying conclusion.

It's not that I think it's cliche or unoriginal, it's that I find it incredibly grating to see "Oh, they really love each other! But then a stupid gag happens and now they hate each other!" I don't think watching the original Rie Kugimiya tsundere show is going to make me like the character type anymore than I enjoy it in Hidan no Aria, just because it's really grating.

I'm also a non-fan of Ranma 1/2, pretty much every aspect of it. Not that I have anything particular to say about it, so I guess that's just a statement of solidarity.

I hardcore-marathoned Bleach to the latest available chapter. As expected, it is the lesser of the holy shounen triad of current manga (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach) but it still managed to be enjoyable, though I have to wonder why it continued at all after the epic Aizen arc. Also, it's arguably the easier on the eyes of all three.

It goes against my nature to drop things, particularly something as brief a read as Bleach, but I came very close with this pointless new arc. I don't think there's anyone still believing anything at all is planned out, which kills one of the reasons I started reading Bleach. I very well might have stopped if not for Urahara's line implying the Spirit King was elemental (as opposed to another dozen characters who will never do much of anything).

[MangaRocks!]

Pandora Hearts vol. 5: Well, just as a quick warning for anyone who hasn't read this series yet, there were actually two or so fairly disturbing pages near the beginning of this volume where [spoiler]a young Vincent uses both a scissors and his hands to dig around inside of-- as well as... uh... pull some things out of (!!!)-- some fresh corpses! Now, even as insane as I knew Vincent to be, I hadn't really expected to see something of *that* nature in there. I mean, at least it's over pretty fast, and I was able to sort-of skim it and just focus mostly on the words as much as possible, but still... :eh:[/spoiler] Other than that, though , it was quite good, and the plot seems to be moving along nicely, too; so, I'm still interested in the series anyway.


Dengeki Daisy vol. 4: My previous comments on this series still apply (i.e., its dialogue and humor are often a bit too edgy for me to be able to freely recommend it, but I still like the plot and characters-- particularly when it gets more intense and focuses on the conspiracies, as it did in this vol. {and likely will for a while now, too, by the looks of it}).


And, finally, Yotsuba&! vol.'s 3 & 4: Okay-- it took me until vol. 3, but I'm finally really starting to love this. So yes, I can now agree with all the rest of you that it's quite good.

[blkmage]

Sengoku Youko is filling the Biscuit Hammer shaped void in my heart pretty decently. I'm not quite as enamoured with it as I was with Biscuit Hammer at the same point in the story, but it looks like there's a lot more room for the story to go, so I'm not too worried about that yet.

Bunny Drop is an awesome single dad manga, right up there with Yotsuba&!. Not the same genre for sure since there's a plot in there, but it shares some of the same kinds of great moments. The characters are all great and there's no particularly awful drama to it or anything. It's enjoyable and I'm pretty excited to see how it ends, especially with the unexpected development that happens. Also super excited for the anime now.

[mysngoeshere56]

I read the first volume of Tokyo Mew Mew a La Mode today... I didn't care for the main series all that much (I thought it was cute, but rather mediocre overall), but I didn't like this volume at all. I'm thinking I might not even bother reading the second... I *might* just to get another "Completed Series" accomplishment under my belt, but if it were longer than 2 volumes, I'd say "absolutely no way".

[Maokun]

It's not that I think it's cliche or unoriginal, it's that I find it incredibly grating to see "Oh, they really love each other! But then a stupid gag happens and now they hate each other!" I don't think watching the original Rie Kugimiya tsundere show is going to make me like the character type anymore than I enjoy it in Hidan no Aria, just because it's really grating.

Like I said, the night I dropped it I had just finished Library Wars which had a good romance involving a tsundere(who was a male, shockingly) but his tsundereness made sense and wasn't just a stupid gag to keep some unresolved romantic tension for thirty eight volumes.

Haha, fair enough. As I said, especially later on, the series is more about fighting and it's, I think, quite entertaining. Ranma and Akane's love-hate relationship serves merely as a background to the premise of Ranma pitting his fighting style ("anything-goes" -which is lamely translated in the official manga as "free style") against a diversity of increasingly ridiculous fighting styles (cooking style/skating style/eating glutonously style/tea ceremony style/japanese calligraphy style/etc.) Also, Ryoga really adds depth to the whole story as the story progresses.

Maybe try watching one of the Movies? They show much better the whole spirit of the anime, especially the anime. I'd recommend Nihao My Concubine.

I finished Kurohime. It started a weak episodic format, got a strangely worthwhile large-scale plot, and ended up being disappointing. The ending actually wasn't all that impressive, despite featuring both the caption "4.6 billion years later" and the world being cut in half by a giant sword. Maybe romantic types like the reincarnation angle, but I found it an entirely unsatisfying conclusion.

This was rather spoilery, but I'm grateful. Now I know not to touch the thing with a mile long stick. I hate that kind of endings too.

I'm also a non-fan of Ranma 1/2, pretty much every aspect of it. Not that I have anything particular to say about it, so I guess that's just a statement of solidarity.

Fair enough. I do see how it wouldn't be everyone's choice. Also I'm ready to admit that I might have a soft spot for it given that, (1) I saw it back on its time, when it was the first series to try a lot of things we take forgranted nowadays that we have more sophisticated versions of them, and (2) I was a hapless adolescent back then so I mostly remember my inner exclamations of "amazing!", "wow that's so funny!", "hey this is more like romantic relationships as I know them than all those other sappy love stories", and of course, "Shampoo must be the most beautiful thing in this flawed, ugly world."

It goes against my nature to drop things, particularly something as brief a read as Bleach, but I came very close with this pointless new arc. I don't think there's anyone still believing anything at all is planned out, which kills one of the reasons I started reading Bleach. I very well might have stopped if not for Urahara's line implying the Spirit King was elemental (as opposed to another dozen characters who will never do much of anything).

Fully agreed. Only reason I'm hanging onto it is to see the explanation about Ichigo's dad stuff. Not that it's too hard to imagine, but I'll have my closure! I like to think that as make-up-as-we-go arc as the current one obviously is, the author actually has a proper, satisfactory and coherent ending fully planned for the story since the moment he started it.

[mysngoeshere56]

Currently reading Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE volume 2. I'm finding it's even more enjoyable the second time around.

[uc pseudonym]

Anyone have a strong opinion about Zetman? I'd need to read a fair bit at once to catch up and I'm not sure if what I've read so far interests me enough.

Since Fish & Chips doesn't have much manga access, is there anyone else still reading Berserk? I just wanted to say that I called all this over a year ago. There was no way they'd finish their journey and get important plot information, there definitely has to be a volume or two devoted to an island along the way. At least it's taking advantage of Berserk's art and blending the medieval and supernatural influences.

This was rather spoilery, but I'm grateful. Now I know not to touch the thing with a mile long stick. I hate that kind of endings too.

I guess that did end up with some spoilers. But in a sense I feel like the stuff I mentioned, though it sure seems like it should be important, really doesn't answer any of the questions anyone would care about while reading the series. The disconnect with much of the rest of the series was part of what made it unsatisfying.

Fully agreed. Only reason I'm hanging onto it is to see the explanation about Ichigo's dad stuff. Not that it's too hard to imagine, but I'll have my closure! I like to think that as make-up-as-we-go arc as the current one obviously is, the author actually has a proper, satisfactory and coherent ending fully planned for the story since the moment he started it.

I'm not sure how to feel about those plot issues. Part of the fun in Bleach lately has been seeing it destroy all the things that interested me in the beginning. Like having Hell finally be referenced again, but no, it's just a movie and was never meant to have a meaningful impact on the story.

Kubo Tite did say he had the most important scenes in mind but not details on connecting them. I used to think that he might just get sidetracked with long character-heavy arcs (Soul Society, Hueco Mundo) but with the way some things have gone I'm cynical. His brilliant plans for the ending may be something to the effect of: "Find 12 fetishes I haven't done yet and introduce characters for them. Everyone fights a bunch and Ichigo rescues captured female character. Note to self: they fight somewhere white-colored."

[GeneD]

I'm not sure how to feel about those plot issues. Part of the fun in Bleach lately has been seeing it destroy all the things that interested me in the beginning.

All of the fun in Bleach for me in the most recent chapters come from a hilarious chapter summery/rip-off thing I came across on DA. It's worth skimming the 20 or so pages for each chapter and is the only reason I am still reading it.

Recently finished the fantastic The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer.

[Maokun]

Kubo Tite did say he had the most important scenes in mind but not details on connecting them. I used to think that he might just get sidetracked with long character-heavy arcs (Soul Society, Hueco Mundo) but with the way some things have gone I'm cynical. His brilliant plans for the ending may be something to the effect of: "Find 12 fetishes I haven't done yet and introduce characters for them. Everyone fights a bunch and Ichigo rescues captured female character. Note to self: they fight somewhere white-colored."

"Second note to self: find a way to top the latest grievous injure I've inflicted to a character and have him walk away alive." Seriously, I lost most of my respect for the series when Ichigo got almost cut in half by the waist, and he still could crawl and looked hardly in any pain. And then he got better. You know you have gone too far when you look behind you and see far back the line that Dragon Ball didn't dare to cross.

I finished volume 4 of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer but now I'm stuck because after lots of searching, I haven't found where to download the rest :/ I know it's up for reading online, but I'm currently without Internet at my place (using my phone right now) so I usually just download at a cafe Internet and read back at home.