Atria35 wrote:You miiight be missing the point of NGE - it's all about the psychological issues and trauma of the characters, and exploring the meaning of humanity and self. The shounen fighting scenes are merely the window dressing. See the anime for clarification.
Also, the very end was quite intriguing-- I'm not sure if that truly is what Hakaze wants, or if she was just saying that to Jun as a ruse, or what; either way, though, this should turn out to be very interesting...
The historical setting is really interesting, too, and it's also really easy to get engrossed in the lives of the characters. In fact, I was actually a bit surprised at how much I got invested in the life of the traveling researcher, Mr. Smith-- so much so that I found the story
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: of him and Talas truly heartbreaking. 
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: It doesn't seem like there is much hope-- if any at all-- for them to be together now 
, but I do hope that there is at least some closure with it at some point (like how she's doing, if she's okay, etc.) later on. Now, just as fair warning to those who haven't read this yet, there are a couple of pages of (female) nudity; however, it's portrayed in a natural (not fanservicey) manner, so take that as you will. Anyway, that aside, this has been an excellent series so far, and I'll definitely continue following it!
Looking forward to seeing the resolution of the cliffhanger, and to where it goes next after that...
)
SierraLea wrote:Problem.
I remember this super cool manga about a coupe of kids who get pulled into another world as saviors, and I want to read it again but can't remeber what it's called. The three main characters are bonded with the characteristics of a phoenix, a white tiger, and a winged panther. Ringing any bells?
Atria35 wrote:It's called Vermonia. It's also not a manga, it was created in the US (which makes it an OEL).
Neane wrote:A Distant Neighborhood
It's a short fantasy manga with a simple premise. The Protagonist in his mid 40's is in the middle of reminiscing about his life on his train ride home from work decides on a whim to visit his mother's grave. After going to his hometown, he gets transported to the past and put inside inside his teenage body. Getting a chance to relive his youth with his middle aged wisdom, he gets to see just exactly what kinds of things were going on around him that he never managed to notice. Quite an emotional time travel story, and in my opinion, the best time travel story, not because its exploration of the time travel theme, but through the use of slice of life and drama genres.
And I totally called
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kanda and Krory coming back to life, but I suppose that's not too hard for a typical shounen manga. I think I would have preferred it if they'd left it the way it was (at least it would be unexpected), but I guess this way we get a chance at finding out
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: more about Kanda's backstory, especially his tattoo. , so I finally decided to check out the source manga. And it was quite an interesting experience.
), and has a bit more epic feel to it by the end. Another interesting thing about it was that while I think the majority of the manga was quite a bit better than the anime, I also think a few things were actually done better in the anime instead--
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: for example, the raw despair Vash feels after he consciously kills someone for the first time, and then his eventual redemption; in the manga, this was quite short and not delved into very deeply at all, and thus I felt it was portrayed better in the anime (at least as I remember it ). And IIRC there was a little extra context to Vash and Wolfwood's friendship throughout the anime, too. In fact, most interestingly of all, until now I've never seen a source and adaptation so different from each other by the end, and yet so complementary-- to the point where I'd really say that you actually need the context of *both* the anime and the manga to get the full impact out of each! ... and not only is one instance of this actually shown, it is not delicately depicted (to put it mildly). 
This is unfortunate, as aside from that page or two, the manga is excellent. ) Nice save there, though. Looking forward to the next chapter! ) Also, the little romance bit with Nakaba being really open and sweet and Caesar being all nervous and awkward was quite cute. ), but I got used to both the rather-disturbing baddies and the occasionally-somewhat-strange (but actually pretty hilarious) sense of humor that the series has quite quickly. 
As for Nai, well, he was cute enough in the beginning, but I think I really started liking him after
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the reveal in vol. 2 about him being pretty much an animal in human form, at which point his oblivious innocence (and everything else) made perfect sense. Oh, and that also made for some pretty hilarious mental images for other characters (when they occasionally 'hallucinate' a Niji with Nai's expression instead of just seeing Nai, LOL). 
And the plot has been interesting as well.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Loved the plot twists with Karoku, too. ) ) (And LOL at the end. ) Anyway, this chapter was pretty funny overall.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I also liked the quieter moments. And oh my gosh, the end... poor Shizuku getting made over, LOL. Interested to see what she'll look like, though. 
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And yep, that went down pretty much exactly as I thought it would, with Karoku attacking Gareki and then the Circus members swooping in and explaining everything. (Poor Yogi, though, LOL. ) Now that that's all handled, it'll be interesting to see what's up with "the key" in Karoku's memories...
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...First, before I comment on anything else, I must comment on this: HOLY CRAP, HE'S ALIVE!!! 
I really love almost all of the characters (...well, minus a couple I'm indifferent to and a couple that I despise, LOL!), but if I absolutely had to rank them, Reim would be my second-favorite character of this series (the first actually being a tie of Leo and Elliot-- and Gil, Break, and Oz all competing for third ), so as you can imagine the end of vol. 13 was pretty heartbreaking. And, as you can also imagine, the twist that his 'useless' chain's power is actually to fake its contractor's death (though it is quite risky, and he was ordered never to use it unless he really was about to die anyhow )-- and, thus, he was, in fact, still alive -- was pretty awesome. ... and to fight alongside someone as a team, as well!), and-- along with the fairly intricate plot and all its great twists, of course-- that's one of the best things about this series: how well the characters interact and learn and grow. etc.), but man, now I do-- and it's Isla Yura. Ugh. Talk about sickening... 
), but the fact that the Humpty Dumpty chain is composed of all of Glen's vessels' former bodies was a rather nasty surprise even so. It makes total sense, however. And the mangaka also got me with how it was possible for Elliot to have the main body of that chain. I mean, I was (unfortunately ) already pretty darn sure that it had to be either him or Leo, but the way that I'd figured how it might work for Elliot to have it and still not have the incuse on his body (I thought he might have contracted it onto his sword-- it was specifically pointed out that he always had it with him, after all, and now I'm quite certain that little 'clue' was a purposeful {and very good} red herring) was blown right out of the water, and what really occurred instead actually made perfect sense with both the nature of the chain itself and some things hinted long ago. Nicely done there. ) ... and, to top it all off, Leo is Glen's next vessel! The suffering that both of them have gone through (and are going through right now) against their own wills is terrible, and to see all of this happen to my two most-favorite characters of the series is really painful. (I teared up when Leo was crying, no lie. ) -- Jack-via-Oz about to kill Isla Yura, Break about to tell Gil something important (what, I wonder? Is it about Vincent working with the Baskervilles??), and literally right in the middle of Elliot's revelation (in the middle of a *sentence,* in fact!). Wow. I'm honestly not quite sure if I can hold out two months for the next volume here now... ) (been wanting to say that for a while XD). And it was nice to get a break from all the fighting, though of course that didn't last too long. There was a plot twist that made my jaw literally fall open! I was not expecting that. And all the hints at what's up with Allen's past...tantalizing ^_^ I'm also really feeling for Komui and Lenalee, though I really want to hear the rest of that story.wildpurplechild wrote:Ouran High School Host club vol 16: I remembered I still haven't finished this series! It's sad that it's ended but SPOILER: Highlight text to read: it looks like Tamaki and Haruhi will end up together, which I was hoping for. I'm still wondering if the rest of ther school will find out that Haruhi is a girl though.XD
, but just in case it was the former I thought I should mention that there are actually 18 volumes. )MangaRocks! wrote:Not sure if you meant sad that it ended in that volume or sad that it ends at all
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm glad he finally accepted the help. And he actually grinned! Nice ending to the chapter, too. ) hiatus and will (presumably) give it an actual ending. 
The two volumes released before the hiatus were (expectedly) a bit rough in terms of art, and "meh" in terms of story (though at least there was a little self-aware humor a time or two-- for example, I had to LOL when the mangaka threw in the random deserted mansion in the mountains with the actual caption "And by way of a typical plot development..." 
). So anyway, up until that point, it's an okay but very average read, and not really a recommendation. The brand-new chapter, however-- while, in terms of content, is just a short story to get the series started back up again-- obviously shows a vast improvement in the art, and I would assume that the story will improve now as well. Thus, I will be continuing to follow this.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Hiramaru's proposal was just as ridiculously dorky as you'd expect, LOL, but still so cute! And this friendly yet full-on battle between Eiji and Ashirogi-- while the latter are still working on another series, no less-- is quite entertaining. I'm looking forward to seeing the reason(s) for the difference in the print runs of their two series despite their survey rankings... At least
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the kid still likes her, though. Also, LOL-- the twins were hilarious! And
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the part where the two of them and the brothers were learning to like each other was pretty cute, too. And finally, that intriguing little epilogue--
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: so Smith throwing away that watch *is* going to be significant in some way! Interesting... LOL though at Mamoru just taking out all the lesser criminals at once at the end. Speaking of, I'm really liking Genda, the main detective/cop in the story-- he's pretty awesome. I'm quite looking forward to his conversation with Mamoru in the next volume... ) I feel bad for Kaien Cross and Ichijo, though-- Kaien because every single Hunter has turned against his leadership now in favor of just letting all the Purebloods die; and Ichijo because he now seems to be completely under Sara's control (even though he's still impressively able to fight against it a little). Also, that was pretty smart of Shiki there at the end-- I had almost forgotten that he's actually half Kuran, so obviously that would lessen Sara's hold on him despite taking the tablets, and it would probably also help Ichijo to break free from her if he makes Ichijo drink his blood (though I'm not sure if the latter is actually a part of what Shiki was planning; and now there's not much time, if any, for him to do much anyway since Kaname has just appeared ). And speaking of Kaname, nice cliffhanger! )
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Perfect for all the Tamaki/Haruhi fans! Myself included. I liked all the extra stuff at the end too, like the little glimpses of the future of the host club members. Oh, and it was so funny at the begining with Hunny and the dark arts club girl! What a funny couple, but so cute!wildpurplechild wrote:Ouran High School Host Club vols 17-18 (FInal Volume!!) I loved the ending!
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