What Manga are you reading?

[blkmage]

Read Kimi to Boku, which feels kind of like a Hidamari Sketch/Aria/K-ON!-ish kind of manga, following daily lives of high school students, except this time they're guys, something I once thought was impossible. Pretty neat and I look forward to more.

[Atria35]

Higurashi v. 9-10- Beyond Midnight is an arc that's manga-only. I definitely liked how it added to the feel of the story. While there was no important information in it, there was a feel of repetance and forgiveness, which I liked. Not to mention it was just as mind-bending as the rest of the arcs, though it had to be wrapped up in two volumes. With it I have finished the first half of Higurashi- all the question arcs have been made. Now it's the long, slow wait for the answer arcs!

Kimi ni Todoke v. 1-4- I read faster than I watch anime. I think that was part of what drove me insane about the anime- this is a slow story, so it takes forever for it to be told visually. Weird, since I didn't have the same agitation about ARIA. My guess is because it's a romance, and I want that to be over quickly so the mains get together. Eh! Regardless, it's exactly the same as the anime, but I'm appreciating it more this time around.

[wildpurplechild]

Read Ultra Maniac vol 1 Hmmm... Kinda mediocre, I probably won't continue reading this one.

[mkalv]

Read Ultra Maniac vol 1 Hmmm... Kinda mediocre, I probably won't continue reading this one.

Well, it gets better later, but don't expect anything too complex.

Anyway, I just read volume 1 of the newly released Mega Man Gigamix. I enjoyed it more than Mega Man Megamix.

[blkmage]

Finally managed to finish a volume of the Fate/Zero light novel. It's a prequel to Fate/stay night and to anyone who's thinking about reading it without reading Fate/stay night, I previously had trouble getting through it at all before playing through Fate/stay night. There's a lot of prior knowledge that's assumed that you're familiar with. It does briefly go through the mechanics of the world a bit, but the most important contextual information that you're expected to react to are the characters.

The novel's written by Urobuchi Gen. Even though it's a Type-Moon property, he manages to work in some of Nasu's style in addition to his own little injections. Being the opening volume of the story, there's little hints of things to come and there's a few classic terrible things happening to people and a couple of pages of describing Kiritsugu's guns and such.

So far, the most entertaining aspect has been Fate/Zero's Rider, who doesn't have a similar counterpart in Fate/stay night. That guy is hilarious and great. That's not to say that the other characters aren't good either. There's something neat about watching Masters who actually know what they're doing fight. The stage is definitely set for a much more brutal Holy Grail War than the one that's presented in Fate/stay night.

Also of interest is the postface, by Urobuchi and Nasu. Nasu's section is mostly about how he roped Urobuchi into doing this project. Urobuchi's section talks about the types of stories he'd like to write and goes into the philosophy behind how he'd do it and why. It's particularly interesting in light of one of the stories he's written recently...

[Blacklight]

[quote="Kaori (post: 1484479)"]Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star): The anime is better. Like a good lyric poem, everything in the anime is focused on creating a single, unified impression]

Huh. If I'm understanding correctly, it seems I liked the manga better for the reasons that made it worse than/not as good as the anime. Maybe I didn't register the emotions the same way and because of this, didn't sense that feeling of isolation and its being lost in the manga adaption. I guess I don't remember it very well. I think I tend to like when there's less ambiguity to an ending, and I may prefer when there are a few more characters to a story. Hm...

[Adorima]

I'm reading Maximum Ride. Pretty decent manga. It's a manga adaptation of James Patterson's series about mutant "bird-kids", basically humans with wings that span up to 14 feet. It's a very youthful and fun, because of the adventurous and brave spirit of the "flock" with Max Ride at it's head. Though it has dark underpinnings because of the conspiracies and intrigue behind the organization which created Max, along with other people who want to get their hands on this new breed of human.

Also reading: 20th Century Boys...man I'm blown out of the water with the excellent story-telling power of Naoki Urasawa. 5/5 is truely a fitting rating for this adventure/conspiracy series.

[Atria35]

Re-read Manga Messiah and have definitely picked up on a few more things I dislike about it. I may have been wrong when I said it was a bit better than Manga Bible. This has characatures as the bad guys (they're all ugly/old- except for Judas who looks sleazy) which isn't cool. The art is also less professional than at first glance- this is good-quality doujin, but not professional-professional art, here. It even falls into 'bad territory at some stages, falling back on sloppy lines and cartoony art. The dialogue? In some places it delves into nonsensical or not enough simply because of an awkward translation from Japanese. How many people actually know that the saying about the right hand and left hand has nothing to do about being betrayed or decieving people? This does NOT have it in the context you hear it in approx 100% of the time, which will confuse most readers. It also very much simplifies the story of Jesus. It needed way more than the slim, oversize volume that it was given.

This is for kids. That's the only thing I can say about it. It's a decent adaptation, and some parts were told well, but it's nothing special in the grand scheme of things. I don't see much of a difference between this and a 'Story of Jesus' coloring book in terms of content.

To soothe my feelings, I went and read volume 1 of 20th Century Boys. It helped the disappointment.

[AnimeGirl]

I read like 3 chapter of Higurashi: When They Cry, Abducted by Demons Arc. I think it is interested how each arc uses the same characters but puts them in a different scenario. In this volume, Kei-chan seems to be closer to Rena instead of Mion. Also, the mysterious revolves around people dying if they supported the dam project, not because they entered the Saiguden. Interesting, brilliant storytelling! I am anxious to see how this arc ends O.O

[Kaori]

Galaxy Express 999 volume 2 (out of 21): flying trains in space. It is in turns humorous, faintly elegiac, and horribly pulp fiction; its quaintness reminds me of early science fiction like Out of the Silent Planet (that is, it is more imaginative than scientifically accurate). Also, there’s a rather distinct flavor of Japanese culture and the Japanese mindset no matter how distant the characters are from Earth. That’s understandable, though; Matsumoto Leiji is Japanese, so he imagines other people as acting in a Japanese way, too. So far, the structure is largely episodic, but with ongoing ominous hints about something sinister lurking under the surface--the plot is thickening, but slowly.

Apparently Viz has the license for this. If that’s true, I wish they would stop sitting on it and translate it already so that some people outside Japan could enjoy it.

[Atria35]

Galaxy Express 999 volume 2 (out of 21): flying trains in space. It is in turns humorous, faintly elegiac, and horribly pulp fiction]Out of the Silent Planet[/I] (that is, it is more imaginative than scientifically accurate). Also, there’s a rather distinct flavor of Japanese culture and the Japanese mindset no matter how distant the characters are from Earth. That’s understandable, though; Matsumoto Leiji is Japanese, so he imagines other people as acting in a Japanese way, too. So far, the structure is largely episodic, but with ongoing ominous hints about something sinister lurking under the surface--the plot is thickening, but slowly.

Apparently Viz has the license for this. If that’s true, I wish they would stop sitting on it and translate it already so that some people outside Japan could enjoy it.

You can watch the entire 113 episode anime on Crunchyroll, if you're that interested.

Oooh, also- To Terra... v. 2- Still as good as I remember. More feelings of betrayal and intrigue on Earth. Stuff happens with the Mu (man, I will NEVER be able to say that without thinking of my friends' pet Beta fish, named Mu). And... stuff happens.

[Kaori]

You can watch the entire 113 episode anime on Crunchyroll, if you're that interested.

Yeah, I remember you mentioned that once before, too. I do appreciate your pointing it out, but Crunchyroll and Hulu are blocked in Japan, so no, I can’]can[/i] buy the other 19 volumes of the manga series if I choose to invest in it; it would just take me a very long time to read, since my reading speed in Japanese is much slower than in English.

[Atria35]

[quote="Kaori (post: 1487767)"]Yeah, I remember you mentioned that once before, too. I do appreciate your pointing it out, but Crunchyroll and Hulu are blocked in Japan, so no, I can’t watch anything on either of those.

Since I live in Japan, I can buy the other 19 volumes of the manga series if I choose to invest in it]

I feel like an idiot- I forgot you're in Japan. I know it says that in your location, but... Yeah.

[blkmage]

As its second season finished yesterday, I took the opportunity to catch up on the manga for THE WORLD GOD ONLY KNOWS. It turns out the anime is a fantastic adaptation of the manga and the best parts of the story are yet to come.

[AnimeGirl]

[quote="Kaori (post: 1487767)"]Yeah, I remember you mentioned that once before, too. I do appreciate your pointing it out, but Crunchyroll and Hulu are blocked in Japan, so no, I can’t watch anything on either of those.

Since I live in Japan, I can buy the other 19 volumes of the manga series if I choose to invest in it]

That's weird. Why is it blocked in Japan?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So people will buy it on DVD or BD.

Hulu is exclusively an American website, while Crunchyroll will get rights to stuff to anywhere outside of Japan.

To be on topic, I'm still working my way through Monster, which is the best disappointing manga I've ever read.

[blkmage]

It's not even that it's blocked in Japan for sales so much as it is that 90% of the time, licensing means the United States of America and no one else. Crunchyroll is slightly better in that it serves a few more English and non-English speaking countries. For the most part though, if you're not in the US, there are pretty much no legal options for streaming.

This is one of the reasons why fansubbing will never die and why there is so much animosity towards American licensors. It's easy to forget that there are English speaking anime fans everywhere. Just because an anime or manga is licensed in the US doesn't mean it's available everywhere. The general rule of thumb a few years ago was that fansubbing/scanlating stopped when a series gets American licensing. This has changed now that there are huge numbers of English-speaking fans in places like Europe and Southeast Asia.

[Kaori]

I feel like an idiot- I forgot you're in Japan. I know it says that in your location, but... Yeah.

That's all right]The Wanderer[/I] v. 1-2. The mangaka, Kakinouchi Harumi, is better known for Vampire Princess Miyu, the original series of which is quite good. The Wanderer follows the story of Kodou Sei, a guy who was made into a vampire by Yui, who was made into a vampire by Miyu. In addition to the old and new Vampire Princess Miyu manga series, Kakinouchi also wrote a series about Yui, which makes The Wanderer basically a spinoff of a spinoff.

I’ll hold off my final opinion of this manga until I’ve read volume 3, but there are some things to criticize, like the shounen-ai overtones, which I don’t enjoy. My other main criticism is that I found it impossible to like or sympathize with most of the characters. The boys are mostly excessively effeminate, and with the exception of Yui, the girls in this manga (all very minor characters) do pretty much nothing except gossiping and running away from things screaming. The antagonist, who is neither entirely a villain nor entirely sympathetic, is a spoiled brat, but his characterization had significantly more depth compared to the other characters; it turns out that there reasons that he is the way he is, and those reasons make sense, so he strikes me as at least being realistically characterized, even though he is unlikeable.

The best thing I can say about this so far is that the plot, which seemed to be rather incoherent in v. 1, does come together much better in volume 2. Things that seemed to be completely random and unrelated to each other did end up tying together somewhat. The plot is still not particularly excellent, but it is at least handled more or less competently. Aside from the original premise of the story (Kodou is chasing after Yui, who in turn is searching for Miyu), the plot elements that arise in volume 1 are resolved by the end of volume 2, which means that the fact that only two of the three volumes were translated by Studio Ironcat is not such a horrible thing for American readers as it otherwise might have been. At least there’s a fair amount of resolution at the end of v. 2.

[Atria35]

re-read Utahime- it's going to be my next review, methinks. It's short and good, and I've been meaning to do it for a while.

[wildpurplechild]

Read Alice in the Country of Hearts vol 3. I'm enjoying this one though the whole Alice in Wonderland thing is over done. Still, this seems to be worth reading.

[Atria35]

re-read v. 2 and 3 of To Terra...- in some ways it's better than I remember, in some ways not so much. Either way, it's still a great series.

[ST. Attidude]

Re-read Manga Messiah and have definitely picked up on a few more things I dislike about it. I may have been wrong when I said it was a bit better than Manga Bible. This has characatures as the bad guys (they're all ugly/old- except for Judas who looks sleazy) which isn't cool. The art is also less professional than at first glance- this is good-quality doujin, but not professional-professional art, here. It even falls into 'bad territory at some stages, falling back on sloppy lines and cartoony art. The dialogue? In some places it delves into nonsensical or not enough simply because of an awkward translation from Japanese. How many people actually know that the saying about the right hand and left hand has nothing to do about being betrayed or decieving people? This does NOT have it in the context you hear it in approx 100% of the time, which will confuse most readers. It also very much simplifies the story of Jesus. It needed way more than the slim, oversize volume that it was given.

This is for kids. That's the only thing I can say about it. It's a decent adaptation, and some parts were told well, but it's nothing special in the grand scheme of things. I don't see much of a difference between this and a 'Story of Jesus' coloring book in terms of content.

I totally agree with you.

Plus I can't understand at all why Satan looks the way that he does, which I find to be completely inaccurate and why they decided to leave out the lame man walking after page 116...

Perhaps I could set things straight, with an adaptation of my own.
Who knows...just wishful thoughts at this point...

Anyhoo, I'm reading Fushigi Yugi Volume 2 right now and its certainly more interesting than I thought it would be. I just adore Watase's expressions!

[wildpurplechild]

Read Bride of the Water God at Atria's suggestion. I liked it, it was very intreresting! The mythology element is cool, and the art is very beautiful. I'll definately keep reading. Thanks Atria!

[Atria35]

Read Bride of the Water God at Atria's suggestion. I liked it, it was very intreresting! The mythology element is cool, and the art is very beautiful. I'll definately keep reading. Thanks Atria!

You're welcome! ^.^

Re-read 20th Century Boys 1-2 and Dorothy of Oz 1- the former is still great, the latter is still a guilty pleasure. Of course, Udon had to disappoint me and NOT finish publishing D of Oz. THey have a nasty tendency to drop all their manga series like hot potatoes after 2 volumes. At least this one made it to 4.

[Atria35]

Dorothy of OZ 2-4- I hate you for stopping the printing of this, Udon. I really do. Fantastically fun series.

[Kaori]

The Wanderer v. 3 (complete). The most important thing to know about this volume (which was never released in the States, although v. 1-2 were) is that there’s absolutely no advancement of the main plot, the title character’s search for Yui. Volume 3 is basically just a couple of self-contained stories, and the only connection to the stories from v. 1-2 is that a character who appeared briefly at the tail end of v. 1 is heavily featured in the latter two-thirds of v. 3. Apparently this series was dropped and never finished, which somewhat explains the utter lack of progress.

The second of the two stories has several moments where characters either struggle with English words or pretend to not be able to speak English (“Ore kyanto spiiku ingurisshu gomenâ€

[Atria35]

Chibi Vampire 1-2 - I still really enjoy this series, and it's also one that seems to engage my brother, too (it's a romcom. Who knew?!) Still as nice as I remember!

And since I finished with Planetes, I then read Chibi Vamp 3-4- Yeah, still sweet.

[MangaRocks!]

The Lucifer And Biscuit Hammer, a.k.a. Hoshi no Samidare (complete): ...Wow. This is another one that I ended up reading thanks to Fish's "Manga of the Month" thread, and my sincere thanks to him for it! It's kinda difficult to describe the series properly without giving away any spoilers, but what I can say is that there's a good reason why it's one of the few manga I've rated a full 10/10 on MAL (and also why I set it into a close-4th-place spot on my top-favorite-manga list). I mean, sure, it could have done without a bit of the fanservice (which seemed to be rather satirical a good deal of the time, though, anyway); but, really, the story itself-- and, again, I can't do it justice here without spoilers, so I'll just mention that included in this is an excellent ending and some fantastic character growth throughout-- pretty much erase the slight negatives. So, yeah-- 10/10 and fave.

Also read Kimi ni Todoke vol. 9: Still great, though granted this was really just a set-up volume for the particular impending climax that will (probably? :grin:) arrive in vol. 10. Which in turn, of course, means that this vol. had a rather unfortunate cliffhanger. Ah well...

And finally, since I realized that I actually hadn't been posting about it , I've been reading Gin no Saji (a.k.a. Silver Spoon) as its chapters come out (it's up to ch. 10 now), which is excellent.

[AnimeGirl]

Read volume 8 of Fullmetal Alchemist and volume 4 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

[J.D3]

Read volume 8 of Fullmetal Alchemist and volume 4 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

Hey, I'm readin Tsubasa Reservoir too (up to Volume 7)!

Also finished reading Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories & am up to Volume 7 of KH2. Not bad, am actually finding it quite funny!

Finished Shin Angyo Onshi a little while back (might write a review on it eventually) & picking up Kami no Shizuku here and there too!