What Manga are you reading?

[AnimeGirl]

Ooh, I forgot to mention I read a chapter of this manga in Shounen Jump called Psyren (I think that's the title). I wonder if a volume is out yet, 'cause so far, I'm interested. I'm a bit lost, since it wasn't the first chapter, but nevertheless interested.

[Atria35]

I wonder if a volume is out yet, 'cause so far, I'm interested. I'm a bit lost, since it wasn't the first chapter, but nevertheless interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Psyren-Vol-1-Toshiaki-Iwashiro/dp/1421536765

5 volumes have been released so far. There are 16 total- it's finished publishing in Japan.

Read some more of One Piece, but am not going to finish the volume since I'm so tired I almost accidentally killed myself twice tonight.

[uc pseudonym]

I'm pretty busy just keeping up with my current manga. I will say that Fairy Tail has much more of my interest now that it introduced a point system for the tournament instead of just single-elimination fighting.

That has me thinking... has anyone ever seen a double-elimination tournament in any manga or anime? There are some interesting dramatic possibilities there, but I don't think I've ever seen this done.

I tried reading the first 3 chapters of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! but I'm not sold :/ It's an extreeeeeemely generic shounen that makes all the customary and trite calls of the genre except having a spunky, spirited main character which is usually the driving power of stories of this genre. Also the world mechanics are among the most baffling and absurd I've seen in any manga, shounen or not. I'm a drooling sucker for this genre and I cannot get into this... Does it get any better at all?

A friend who follows KHR! told me to start on a specific chapter and I gave it around a volume from there, but it didn't appeal to me. Even though that was the point where the series shifts from comedy to action, it wasn't a brand of shonen that particularly appealed to me (and I'm pretty open-minded about mediocre shonen). That was a few years ago, though, so I can't comment about anything that might have happened recently, and there's no accounting for taste.

[Maokun]

Thanks for the opinions on KHR! guys. I think I'll let it go. Would you suggest Fairy Tail, then? I read a couple of chapters a while ago and thought it competent but derivative and cliched.

I almost accidentally killed myself twice tonight.

Would you be so kind tostop doing this, please? Thanks.

That has me thinking... has anyone ever seen a double-elimination tournament in any manga or anime? There are some interesting dramatic possibilities there, but I don't think I've ever seen this done.

Pretty sure one of the Pokemon tournies was double elimination. But my memory may be failing me.

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki Hime chapter 31 + omake: Hahaha, oh my gosh-- that whole chapter was hilarious!! :lol::lol: (Well, I mean, aside from that intriguing little cliffhanger at the end there, obviously. Hoping that means [spoiler]that at least some part of Obi's past is going to start being revealed...! )[/spoiler] And that omake! <3

I love this manga. Can't wait for the next chapter!

[uc pseudonym]

Would you suggest Fairy Tail, then? I read a couple of chapters a while ago and thought it competent but derivative and cliched.

Hiro Mashima is king of generic shonen. Rave Master and now Fairy Tail follow definite formulas, so it's a question of if you'll read something for other interesting bits or whether that isn't enough. Expect this kind of thing:
- Normal villains last exactly one fight. Central villains last two.
- The main character fights practically everyone and rarely loses.
- Powers get pulled out of nowhere all the time.
- There's no logical power hierarchy, just a treadmill with the villains in front.
- An overall plot is loosely connected to what's going on.

I'm still following it, though. There are some interesting powers (not JJBA-interesting, but some things that prompt the imagination, like a guy who uses a sword literally as big as a skyscraper) and it's all competent. We have some big fans of the series in this thread; I hope they'll present the other side and say what they love about it.

[Atria35]

Thanks for the opinions on KHR! guys. I think I'll let it go. Would you suggest Fairy Tail, then? I read a couple of chapters a while ago and thought it competent but derivative and cliched.

I normally don't enjoy cliched shounen, but this manages to make it work in a mildly entertaining way. I'd say work a little more into the story before deciding.

Would you be so kind tostop doing this, please? Thanks.

I'll try ]One Piece [/B]v 49-56- IMPEL DOWN. BON CLAY. ACE. IT HIT THE FAN.
*excite*

[Atria35]

I really had to get my eyes away from the computer (final stage of a 6-page midterm [paper with 40% of my final grade), and read v 1 and 2 of La Corda d'Oro. Calling the ending of the manga- she ends up with the guy who doesn't like her right now. I'm totally betting on this.

[Atria35]

....ooo, I get to double-post sinec the edit button has disappeared! I'm up to v 14 of La Corda d'Oro. Yeah, totally called the love interest. Why? Because the nice guys who actually adore the girl and befriend her never get the girl. Why? Because. I actually have no logical reason for this - I mean, the mean guy is cold and mean. I've never understood this attraction. And it drives me up the freakin wall. And I REALLY wish one of the others (trumpet player- so adorable, so devoted!) would have spoken up, because maybe it would have broken this STUPID shoujo trope to pieces.

It's not like Len has an actual personality. He's an utter milquetoast, and the attraction beyond 'he's cold and pressured and therefore awesome!' is beyond me.

[Smileloviene]

....ooo, I get to double-post sinec the edit button has disappeared! I'm up to v 14 of La Corda d'Oro. Yeah, totally called the love interest. Why? Because the nice guys who actually adore the girl and befriend her never get the girl. Why? Because. I actually have no logical reason for this - I mean, the mean guy is cold and mean. I've never understood this attraction. And it drives me up the freakin wall. And I REALLY wish one of the others (trumpet player- so adorable, so devoted!) would have spoken up, because maybe it would have broken this STUPID shoujo trope to pieces.

It's not like Len has an actual personality. He's an utter milquetoast, and the attraction beyond 'he's cold and pressured and therefore awesome!' is beyond me.

Ahhh... someone who understand my feelings. AMEN TO EVERYTHING YOU SAID! Personally, the piano player is my favorite, but the trumpet man is next on the list! I love them both... and yet... she likes the jerk? Len improves some later in the series I guess... but the piano man is SOOOO much better. I haven't read that in a while, I prolly have chapters to catch up on

[Atria35]

Ahhh... someone who understand my feelings. AMEN TO EVERYTHING YOU SAID! Personally, the piano player is my favorite, but the trumpet man is next on the list! I love them both... and yet... she likes the jerk? Len improves some later in the series I guess... but the piano man is SOOOO much better. I haven't read that in a while, I prolly have chapters to catch up on

Since I"m up to v 14 and there's only 3 v left, I don't know if they can actually make a *character* out of Len. He still has all the personality of a stick. He's started warming to Kahoko, but still is a cold, pressured guy. There's just no personality beyond that.

While my first choice would be the trumpet player, I would be completely happy if she ended up with the piano guy. Those two are my top picks, and are great guys that deserve to end up with her. Len? Yeahno.

[Neane]

Knights of Sidonia by Nihei Tsutomu. I really loved the mangaka's previous work BLAME! [Not so much with Biomega] and after reading 17 chapters I have to say that this is his best work yet. This manga is just Incredible. Also this manga is hugely underrated.

Also read two more chapters of Ookami no Kuchi: Wolfsmund. It is most historically accurate Medieval manga out there...also the most brutal. After all, the person who makes this manga was an assistant to Kentaro Miura.

Also finished Shadow Star: Narutaru. It is a bit Darker than Bokurano. Of course Mohiro Kitoh wrote Narutaru in 1999 and I really get the feeling he was traumatized by Evangelion and felt like he had to outdo Evangelion in savagely messing up and torturing young protagonists. Also I liked Narutaru more than Bokurano, if just slightly. It seemed like there was a certain beauty that was present in Narutaru that was not present in Bokurano.
[spoiler]One of the key differences between Bokurano and Narutaru are the main characters. Shiina and Coemushi, these two started and ended in pretty much the opposite places. Shiina started as a good and innocent person who wanted to protect the earth and the people on it but was slowly crushed by the harsh world around her to the point where she didn't care about it anymore and thought everyone should just die. Coemushi on the other hand started as a rather villainous person, he took sadistic glee in tormenting the children and didn't seem to care much about their world. But as the story went on he ended up redeeming himself and by the end he even became the hero of the story.[/spoiler]

Also have been giving 20th Century Boys a try. It is not Naoki Urasawa's best work..but it is rather nice.


Also I have been reading some Getter Robo [Getter Robo, G, Go] created by Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai.

[SIZE="7"]GETTER BEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE]

THESE MANGA ARE THE MOST MANLY WORKS OF FICTION I HAVE EVER READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

[Maokun]

Thanks for reminding me that I once was meaning to read Narutaru, I'll add it to my list.

I'm re-reading (and this time meaning to finish!) Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. It's a very beautiful manga, with big, gorgeous panels filled with small details which suits its slow-paced rural slice-of-life storytelling that from time to time throws hints about what could be a much more complex plot. If you ever feel a bit overwhelmed by your current entertainment, YKK is definitely a good break from it all.

[Neane]

Black Paradox has to be the strongest Junji Ito manga I have read.
Also read Hide-Out. It was made by the same guy who made the RAINBOW manga. It was great.

[MangaRocks!]

Started a new series! Amatsuki, chapters 1-63 so far: I'd been thinking of checking this out for a while now; thanks to a recommendation from Cadence, I finally did... and I'm loving it! The art style is interestingly unique, the characters-- and the science and technology and history and lore that are all woven into the plot-- are fascinating, and the plot itself is really intriguing. In other words, it's awesome!

Oh, and I also read Otomen vol. 12: LOL! Now even the characters are pointing out some of the parody.

[Neane]

Read the new GANTZ chapters.
[spoiler]Reika got killed offscreen by a ghetto CG monster.
What is this I don't even....

If they had actually showed what happened in Reika's fight and if the monster wasn't just some half-done piece of CG that I could've done a better job making that they just slapped in there. Then this could have been a good end for them. And The outro text also suggested we won't be seeing anymore of Reika.

I mean Reika survived so many cool and powerful monsters and this piece of garbage CG monster is the one who finally does her in and it is not even on screen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[/spoiler]

There are not enough words in the English Language for me to describe how mad I am.

[Maokun]

Black Paradox has to be the strongest Junji Ito manga I have read.

"Strongest" as in "best" or as in "most disturbing imagery"?

[Neane]

"Strongest" as in "best" or as in "most disturbing imagery"?

I would say Best.

I really enjoyed Black Paradox.

Basically it's about a group of people who want to commit suicide due to some unusual identity issues, but things don't go quite according to plan for them as strange things start happening. I think one of the things that make this one stronger then a lot of his other works is that more thought seems to have been put into the characters in this manga if you compare it to his eailier works. You also get a lot more variety in this story.
It is still not 100% serious however, Ito has a humorous angle to his stories, dark though as that may be.

[Maokun]

Nice, I'll check it out!

[Neane]

Just finished Me and the Devil Blues.
It is a Shame it didn't continue. Although I felt the ending was rather complete, I also feel that it could have continued; but I gotta say that it ended rather well.

Also finished Ressentiment​ It is a more realistic, satirical approach to otaku culture with a bit of dark comedy mixed in. It started out slow, much like Hanazawa's other manga. I ended up empathizing with the characters despite the fact that they're kinda disgusting sometimes, but they're human beings at the core who crave companionship and love. Also the ugly caricatures emphasized the unsavory nature of their personalities. Having read some of Kengo Hanazawa's work, I have to say that this is something that he likes to do in his manga, that is: to reveal our imperfect Human Nature. Also, this manga perfectly talked about Human Desire of wanting to escape reality and escape responsibility, something I am certian that we all want deep down in our minds. And also it dealt with how people will go to extreme measures to complete this desire. This has to be one of the most uncomfortable manga I have ever read, but it was very true at heart. I would have to say that this manga should only be read by a mature audience due not only because of the mature themes but also other content that would not sit well with most people.

[love2cookpie]

I love Lovely Complex. It's a guilty pleasure I suppose. It's the first complete manga series I ever bought. Now I'm working on FMA and Skip Beat!. I only have 9 more volumes of FMA to go to complete my set. At least we have a wonderful local bookstore that sells very high quality used manga. :-)

[Atria35]

100% Perfect Girl. It's not perfect, has some definite skips in logic and storyline, and is so very shoujo. I'm not sure I care for it.

[Smileloviene]

Since I"m up to v 14 and there's only 3 v left, I don't know if they can actually make a *character* out of Len. He still has all the personality of a stick. He's started warming to Kahoko, but still is a cold, pressured guy. There's just no personality beyond that.

While my first choice would be the trumpet player, I would be completely happy if she ended up with the piano guy. Those two are my top picks, and are great guys that deserve to end up with her. Len? Yeahno.

Lol, true. I dunno... I guess his kindness (at times) towards Kahoko is enough to make me a little less frustrated with her preference, but yeah... I would NEVER pick him over the other guys, because compared to them he has no character So yeah, overall... I agree with all your words, once again

Read Pandora Hearts Chapter 70 Geez. How many times can a manga author totally twist your mind? This stories has SO many layers. LOVE IT

[SierraLea]

Glad you asked! I'm reading
Bleach
InuYasha
Kitchen Princess
Beauty Pop
Otomen
Rurouni Kenshin
Shaman King
Ultra Maniac
Library Wars
Chrono Crusade
Natsume's Book of Friends
Gankuen Alice
Yes, I am reading all these series at the same time.
No, I do not get them confused.

[MangaRocks!]

Spice & Wolf (novel #1): Hmm... well, I have mixed feelings on this. The economic stuff and Lawrence and Holo's characters and relationship are well-done and quite engaging. All the jabs at the church, though, were kinda tiring. (I mean, okay, we get it, there was some stuff being done back then that wasn't right, and there's always going to be some people who are Christians-in-name-only, unfortunately. But the author didn't have to get so pushy about it, nor make it seem like Christianity itself was false. ) Thankfully, that lessened as the novel went on, and I am planning on reading the rest of the series; but that aspect did detract a bit from my enjoyment of it.

On the other hand...

Amatsuki chapters 64-72: Whoa. Okay, this series was an easy 9/10 already (and I'd been intending to give it a full 10 if the end is pulled off well); but, at this point, I'm just going to go ahead and trust the mangaka and give it the 10 until and unless I see something to the contrary, because right now it's literally just that good!

[SierraLea]

Reading over Ruroni Kenshin book four.

You read stuff over too? I'm redoing Beauty Pop for the laughs.

[SierraLea]

Ahhh... someone who understand my feelings. AMEN TO EVERYTHING YOU SAID! Personally, the piano player is my favorite, but the trumpet man is next on the list! I love them both... and yet... she likes the jerk? Len improves some later in the series I guess... but the piano man is SOOOO much better. I haven't read that in a while, I prolly have chapters to catch up on

I like the trumpet player the best. He is soooooooooo sweet! And with no hidden agenda!

[Atria35]

Black Jack 10-16- Still very good. Still very episodic. While I'd like more on his past, there really isn't much there to tell. Liked the tidbits I got via the various stories.

Angel Gunslinger (all)- Cute. Definitely more of a kid's story, but still cute.

[MasterDias]

Probably should post in this thread more.

Magi - Labyrinth of Magic: Anyone else reading this? I've been keeping up with it since it first started being translated. It's an Arabian Nights-themed fantasy/adventure series from Ohtaka Shinobu (Sumomomo Momomo). I think it's particularly notable for putting a decent amount of emphasis on what could be considered "world building." The scope of the series overall feels rather large, especially as the series progresses and you get insight into various countries, which have real world analogues. There is action, but not all situations are resolved through fighting, since issues like politics and economics actually do come into play. I recommend it to anyone looking for a new weekly shonen series to read.

Mahou Sensei Negima: So I'm not quite sure what went down here. The ending was pleasant enough, and I can't complain about Yue getting screentime, but it feels like most of the unresolved plot threads (including major plot threads) the series had built up over years were dropped, glossed over, and/or resolved offscreen. I'm not raging about it like I've seen some people do, but I am left feeling rather baffled at the way it ended. It really feels like it needed at least one more major arc to satisfactorily finish up the series.

[Atria35]

Magi - Labyrinth of Magic: Anyone else reading this?

I've heard of it but intensely dislike reading series that are still publishing. The only one I'm doing that for currently is Arata. But it's moved onto my 'priority' list for when it's finished!

The Book of Human Instects - one of the more interesting character-study manga by Tezuka. I rather like it.

One Piece v 56-60- SAD FACE FOREVER. There are all these elements that have just come together in this huge ball of amazingness and it's the most heartbreaking thing I've read in a long while. Characters I haven't seen since chapter 1 are back. People I NEVER expected to show up have. Some amazing fighting goes on. And I just want to give everyone a big hug.