Forum Settings
       
Reply To Thread

Manga I have read recently (updated)Follow

#102 Mar 26 2013 at 1:34 PM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
How is Jojo going btw? Dropped it or continuing?
#103 Mar 26 2013 at 1:41 PM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Might take it up again now that I knocked out a few short, older series. Not sure if I have the time/inclination to wade through over a hundred volumes though; I don't think I've ever read that much of one series Smiley: lol
#104 Mar 29 2013 at 11:45 AM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Ha! Just kidding about being done for a while! Smiley: lol

Want to feel depressed? Try reading Undercurrent. It's only 11 chapters, but man it lays on the drama and emotions hard. It's about a woman named Kanae who runs a bathhouse and one day her husband simply disappears. No body, no trail, nothing; she's left scratching her head and trying to figure out what happened. Did he leave for another woman? Did she run him off somehow? Did he get killed by someone? Did he commit suicide? The story is about trying to live on while coping with these questions. A second story starts up late in the series when a little girl in the neighborhood gets kidnapped, which unleashes some long-buried memories of Kanae's childhood and the connection she unknowingly shared with her quiet part-time assistant Hori.

The story is good and gets relatively wrapped up by the end, but it's certainly not a happy ending. As Kanae herself says, even if her husband came back it's not like things would suddenly be fixed. So basically the story is about getting over trauma, not blaming yourself for things outside your control, and relying on the people around you. Still depressing, though!
#105 Apr 03 2013 at 7:57 AM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
So, I am enjoying the heck out of Narutaru; 8 volumes in, 4 to go. It's done by the same mangaka who did Bokurano, which I remember starting (though I forget if I finished it, because I don't remember the end). The theme and drawing styles are similar, and the premise is also kinda similar. In Narutaru, an energetic middle-schooler named Shiina finds a cute star-shaped creature while vacationing at her grandparents' house. The creature, which she names Hoshimaru, is a "dragon-child," and several (or several dozen; I've seen about 10 or so so far) of these have been discovered around the world. What starts out as a a cutesy "middle-schooler gets a magical friend" manga is getting darker and darker. Some of the dragon-children holders are down-right sadistic, and while most of the characters are around 12-15, there are a lot of mature themes (violence, rape, torture, bullying, suicide, implied incest). Besides the violence the manga isn't too graphic, but yikes, is it getting dark.

The manga reminds me a bit of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, with a dash of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (in that a lot of characters just seem to snap and start killing people). If you've read Bokurano, this has a very similar feeling to it. Looking forward to seeing how it ends!
#106 Apr 03 2013 at 8:01 AM Rating: Good
*******
50,767 posts
LockeColeMA wrote:
What starts out as a a cutesy "middle-schooler gets a magical friend" manga is getting darker and darker.
I saw part of the anime, but not exactly sure how much of it I watched. I just distinctly remember the cutesy happy-go-lucky JPop opening theme, with lots of bright colors, and then someone in a dark room during a thunderstorm with a large piece of glass against their wrist while one of the star shaped creatures looked on. It was one of those "Okay, what the ****" moments that make me enjoy anime.
____________________________
George Carlin wrote:
I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.
#107 Apr 03 2013 at 9:47 AM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
lolgaxe wrote:
I saw part of the anime, but not exactly sure how much of it I watched. I just distinctly remember the cutesy happy-go-lucky JPop opening theme, with lots of bright colors, and then someone in a dark room during a thunderstorm with a large piece of glass against their wrist while one of the star shaped creatures looked on. It was one of those "Okay, what the @#%^" moments that make me enjoy anime.

That's pretty tame compared to what else occurs in the show.
#108 Apr 03 2013 at 10:26 AM Rating: Good
****
5,729 posts
You might try looking for some of Kitoh's other stuff too. A lot of it is really weird.
____________________________
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat

Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
#109 Apr 03 2013 at 11:04 AM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Karlina wrote:
You might try looking for some of Kitoh's other stuff too. A lot of it is really weird.


Yeah, I've read one or two of his other things (Bokurano being the most popular). He really seems to have a fetish for putting school children in horrible situations designed to mentally break them Smiley: eek
#110 Apr 03 2013 at 11:29 AM Rating: Good
****
5,729 posts
Yeah, that sums it up pretty well.
____________________________
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat

Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
#111 Apr 03 2013 at 12:53 PM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Ha! Just finished Narutaru, and man, did I hit the nail on the head when it comes to Kitoh's fetish.

Shiina snaps when all of her loved ones are killed by angry people bent on revenge and kills everyone in the world with Kuri.

Anyway, the last few chapters seemed to have some plot holes so I think I need to look up more information. Still, a good series with quite a depressing ending Smiley: tongue

Edit: Some of my unanswered (or underanswered) questions:

What exactly is/was the Orihime? I know she's Shiina's sister, but Virgin Princesses/dragons aren't supposed to be able to interact with the world; they have no attachments except to their dragon-children. Orihime breaks this rule several times to save Shiina.
How was Shiina's sister Mishou killed and why did she become the Orihime? It shows that she got stabbed, but never explains why (could it have been suicide? Why?)
How did Shiina get pregnant after having sex with Tsurumaru when he was clearly dying from radiation poisoning which makes you sterile? Heck, forget sterility; he says several times that he can't even get it up.
What was Sudo trying to say before he died from starvation?
What exactly was going on during Tsurumaru's death and Hoshimaru's dying throws? I guess he was trying to turn Tsuru into a dragon?
When the government agent guy is killed, why does the girl stabbing him say "revenge for my father"?
Was Akira raped by her father? It seemed implied, but it's never said.
How did Kuri get pregnant? Was it when she was raped?
How did Shiina come back to life when she was killed? Kuri showed that she can heal herself, but it's not like her and Shiina are immortal or unaffected by the world (ie, Shiina still eats and later smokes; both girls get pregnant, etc)
Did Tsurumaru and Sudo know each other and what each of them were doing? How did they become executors?


Edited, Apr 3rd 2013 3:11pm by LockeColeMA
#112 Apr 15 2013 at 6:44 PM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
Finished up Narutaru as well. I had seen the anime years ago, but had been worried how the manga would taint my impression. While I suppose the most superficially surprising element is the brutality, Narutaru is also incredibly well written with very succinct, detailed characters, a strong balance between the fantasy plot and ground character interactions, and huge amounts of foreshadowing.

Locke I think the answer to many of those questions may simply be that they ar eleft open because the answer is neither essential to the plot and also because the Japanese have a fondness for somewhat ambiguous endings.

-What exactly is/was the Orihime? I know she's Shiina's sister, but Virgin Princesses/dragons aren't supposed to be able to interact with the world; they have no attachments except to their dragon-children. Orihime breaks this rule several times to save Shiina.

The lack of interaction with humans isn't such a hard rule, as they have been noticed by humans before. There's also the interaction between Babushka's son and the dragon. Additionally all of the interactions with mishono are her reacting to the actions of other shadow dragons, so she isn't so much involved in human conflicts as dragon conflicts.

-How did Shiina get pregnant after having sex with Tsurumaru when he was clearly dying from radiation poisoning which makes you sterile? Heck, forget sterility; he says several times that he can't even get it up.

I interpreted his "can't" as more of a psychological issue due to Norio's death. While he was suffering from radiation poisoning, he wasn't necessarily sterile.

-What was Sudo trying to say before he died from starvation?

He hated himself. While we can speculate about his motives, he clearly has severe emotional issues as it's implied he killed his family.

-What exactly was going on during Tsurumaru's death and Hoshimaru's dying throws? I guess he was trying to turn Tsuru into a dragon?

They were trying to form a dragon, but for some reason failed. It's not implied why. Perhaps he had suffered some brain death just before the merger could occur.

-When the government agent guy is killed, why does the girl stabbing him say "revenge for my father"?

It's implied he is receiving comeuppance for an action he did before the start of the manga, as he's the kind of man more than willing to use peopel to gain power. It's not directly related to events within the manga.

-Was Akira raped by her father? It seemed implied, but it's never said.

Yes, definitely. I'm not sure what version you read, but the language in the one I read was very clear about that implication.

-How did Kuri get pregnant? Was it when she was raped?

Yes.

-How did Shiina come back to life when she was killed? Kuri showed that she can heal herself, but it's not like her and Shiina are immortal or unaffected by the world (ie, Shiina still eats and later smokes; both girls get pregnant, etc)

It's not at all described, but it has been shown that Kuri can heal any of her injuries with Sheol, and it's within the boundaries of the universe that something similar occurred with Shiina.

-Did Tsurumaru and Sudo know each other and what each of them were doing? How did they become executors?

I think that was more Sudo's take on their positions and not some official designation by the dragons or anyone else. I don't remember whether Tsurumaru specifically mentioned his penchant for impregnation to Sudo, though it's certainly not something he ever tried to hide.

I have one minor gripe, and that's that the whole adam and eve concept doesn't work out. You need somewhere in the range of 150 humans to have a genetically stable population that won't eventually die out from inbreeding. Damn science, always ruining poetry.
#113 Apr 16 2013 at 7:35 AM Rating: Good
*******
50,767 posts
Allegory wrote:
-What exactly is/was the Orihime?
A statue that stands there uselessly for more than a decade that people place inexplicable amounts of importance on.
____________________________
George Carlin wrote:
I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.
#114 Apr 18 2013 at 10:42 AM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Thanks for the analysis, Al. I guess I just don't like the vagueness Smiley: lol

Since Noboru Yamaguchi just died, I decided to read the manga of Zero no Tsukaima. It's nothing unique; a boy living a hum-drum life is magically teleported to a medieval fantasy-style world. He becomes the familiar of a witch student named Louise, who is nicknamed "the Zero," because she has zero success in using her magic. The backdrop of the series is that a tenuous peace exists between several countries, which is rocked by a rebel faction of aristocrats who wish to overthrow the ruling Imperial family. Most of the chapters deal with Saito (the main character) and his interactions with his new schoolmates and his growing feelings for Louise, and it is very much a rom-com harem manga with a bit of fighting from time to time. The drawing style is rather simplistic, and all the characters are cute and small.

Honestly, I was disappointed overall. It seems like there was potential for a good backstory involving the legendary "Void" magic, explaining who the Reconquista is and what their goals are, and finding out more about the people who have traveled between worlds. But the ending comes suddenly out of nowhere, with all of those questions unanswered, in the middle of a war. It really feels like the manga was cut off, and if it was going to continue the way it had been, that's probably for the best. While it's cute, it's all fluff.
#115 Apr 18 2013 at 1:24 PM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
I started reading Leviathan, and it's really good so far. Reminds me of a mixture of MPD Psycho (same author), Dorohedoro, and Mushishi. MPD Psycho is probably the closest comparison, though Leviathan focuses on the supernatural. While not a lot of things have been explained, it follows a man named Kohei, who had disappeared along with several friends a few years ago. He reappears in Japan with a body made up of pieces of his former companions, each with their own personalities (for example, his left arm is from a black guy who loves to work out, while his right arm is from a woman named Angela who "refuses to lift anything heavier than a spoon." Kohei operates a "spiritual healing" clinic, where he restores people through his spiritual powers, and moonlights as a supernatural detective, investigating bizarre murders.

Like MPD Psycho, this is definitely a seinen manga. Lots of blood and gore and nudity, but the most mature parts are really how it messes with your mind. It's not as intense as MPD Psycho (or, say, Homunculus), but some of the murders and monsters are pretty freaky. Still, I've very much enjoyed it so far, and like Dorohedoro, it's fun to see how characters surrounded by the strange and dangerous just kinda take everything as normal.
#116 Apr 19 2013 at 12:09 AM Rating: Good
**
589 posts
LockeColeMA wrote:
Thanks for the analysis, Al. I guess I just don't like the vagueness Smiley: lol

Since Noboru Yamaguchi just died, I decided to read the manga of Zero no Tsukaima. It's nothing unique; a boy living a hum-drum life is magically teleported to a medieval fantasy-style world. He becomes the familiar of a witch student named Louise, who is nicknamed "the Zero," because she has zero success in using her magic. The backdrop of the series is that a tenuous peace exists between several countries, which is rocked by a rebel faction of aristocrats who wish to overthrow the ruling Imperial family. Most of the chapters deal with Saito (the main character) and his interactions with his new schoolmates and his growing feelings for Louise, and it is very much a rom-com harem manga with a bit of fighting from time to time. The drawing style is rather simplistic, and all the characters are cute and small.

Honestly, I was disappointed overall. It seems like there was potential for a good backstory involving the legendary "Void" magic, explaining who the Reconquista is and what their goals are, and finding out more about the people who have traveled between worlds. But the ending comes suddenly out of nowhere, with all of those questions unanswered, in the middle of a war. It really feels like the manga was cut off, and if it was going to continue the way it had been, that's probably for the best. While it's cute, it's all fluff.


It was one of those manga that was basically the anime in paper form. The anime does go into all what you were talking about but yeah there is a a bit to much fluff.
#117 Apr 19 2013 at 12:51 AM Rating: Decent
It's Just a Flesh Wound
******
22,702 posts
Quote:
Since Noboru Yamaguchi just died, I decided to read the manga of Zero no Tsukaima.
[...]
Honestly, I was disappointed overall.

Probably has something to do with it being illustrated by Nana Mochizuki. You should read the LNs if you want Noboru Yamaguchi's work. lol

Edited, Apr 19th 2013 2:53am by Deadgye
____________________________
Dear people I don't like: 凸(●´―`●)凸
#118 Apr 19 2013 at 8:18 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
LockeColeMA wrote:
Thanks for the analysis, Al. I guess I just don't like the vagueness Smiley: lol

Since Noboru Yamaguchi just died, I decided to read the manga of Zero no Tsukaima. It's nothing unique; a boy living a hum-drum life is magically teleported to a medieval fantasy-style world. He becomes the familiar of a witch student named Louise, who is nicknamed "the Zero," because she has zero success in using her magic. The backdrop of the series is that a tenuous peace exists between several countries, which is rocked by a rebel faction of aristocrats who wish to overthrow the ruling Imperial family. Most of the chapters deal with Saito (the main character) and his interactions with his new schoolmates and his growing feelings for Louise, and it is very much a rom-com harem manga with a bit of fighting from time to time. The drawing style is rather simplistic, and all the characters are cute and small.

Honestly, I was disappointed overall. It seems like there was potential for a good backstory involving the legendary "Void" magic, explaining who the Reconquista is and what their goals are, and finding out more about the people who have traveled between worlds. But the ending comes suddenly out of nowhere, with all of those questions unanswered, in the middle of a war. It really feels like the manga was cut off, and if it was going to continue the way it had been, that's probably for the best. While it's cute, it's all fluff.


The anime was the same way. As it turns out, the LNs are the way to go. Unfortunately, they were now also cut short by his untimely death :(.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#119 Apr 23 2013 at 1:12 PM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
Finished Blame! I'm not sure read it right after Narutaru was entirely healthy for me though.
Quote:
I personally didn't care much for Blame!, just because it was so hard to understand what was going on in the action scenes. Some artists do action scenes well; others do them poorly; and others do them poorly on purpose to capture the feeling of "whoa, wtf is happening?" that people would usually have when seeing such a scene. I think the author of Blame! does that last one... but it could just be poor drawing. Anyway, only made it about halfway through.

I'd agree with your criticism of the action scenes. I think you were right ot stop halfway, because the manga continues on in much the same manner.

Nihei's artwork is always gorgeous an imaginative. It's very high concept, and I feel the rough line-work adds even more to his already impressive characters, as you're left to speculate somewhat on the remainder or details of their form. BEsides the artowrk, I felt the setting was very strong. I looked at a few reviews and they seem to have wirtten it off and merely a "dystopian future," but I feel niheis a little unique in that he's taken the grit and darker feel of more often hard science fiction settings and applied it to a very soft science fiction setting setting. I even had the impression of high fantasy from the presence of near deity-like beings and extreme spans of tiem and space.

I liked Blame! I liked Abara. And I'll probably like Nihei's other works which I plan to read at some point.
#120 Apr 23 2013 at 9:09 PM Rating: Good
***
1,330 posts
Hmm, looks like there's another Nanoha spinoff... Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Innocent.

I guess it's in the form of a virtual reality game? With Nanoha having the same way of befriending people of course.
#121 Apr 24 2013 at 8:05 AM Rating: Good
*****
10,564 posts
I stopped halfway through StrikerS. I enjoyed the first couple of seasons but that one just wasn't doing it for me.
____________________________
◕ ‿‿ ◕
#122 Apr 24 2013 at 9:02 AM Rating: Good
****
5,729 posts
Same. I loved the first two seasons but I got part way through StrikerS and stopped watching out of boredom and not caring.
____________________________
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat

Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
#123 Apr 29 2013 at 8:30 AM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
Finally got around to the manga of Bokurano. Very strong just like Narutaru, and quite enjoyable for me. I had seen the anime and there are quite a few noticeable differences. I wasn't sure of the reasons for these at first, usually it's due to the manga being incomplete before the creation of the anime.
Wikipedia wrote:
Regarding differences between the stories in the manga and in the anime, Hiroyuki Morita, who directed the anime, wrote in his blog that he dislikes the original story and has, in some ways, been making changes to the plot for that reason. He also wrote that, at one point early in the development of the show, he asked manga author Mohiro Kitoh if he could find some way to save the main characters — the kids who must pilot Zearth. He wrote that Kitoh responded that his choice was fine as long as the changes did not involve "magical solutions" to the story. Morita closed out the blog entry with the statement "The director of the animated version of Bokurano dislikes the original manga. From here on out, you can't expect the animated version to expand on what you might find appealing in the original. So, fans of the original, please do not watch the animated version from now on".

It's somewhat tragic to see an author essentially sabotaging his chance at success because of artistic principles. Noble, but tragic.
#124 Apr 29 2013 at 2:52 PM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
I've had my reading time somewhat cut back, due to being busy. Still working my way through Leviathan. I enjoy it, but it's a mindtrip. Like Dorohedoro, it's a series that just kinda makes you roll with the weird stuff that happens and accept that insanity is normalcy to these characters. Even the most "normal" character has some weird stuff (for example, where I am right now she's pregnant and gorging herself without actually gaining weight; one chapter had her eat several DOZEN plates of sushi, and then grab some cake). And the background story seems to constantly change. Near as I can tell...
The world was supposed to end, so now there's some kind of parallel world (the world as it is supposed to be) that sometimes shows up. It isn't quite explained what this parallel world is - in one chapter it's implied that an alien spaceship crash-landed in the city and destroyed it. But as soon as this is explained, the universe is rewound. All of a sudden, a bunch of aliens appear, then disappear, and everyone thinks they're just a dream.

It's one of those series that I want to finish just so I can go looking online for some explanation of what I just read Smiley: tongue
#125 May 07 2013 at 1:56 PM Rating: Excellent
*****
12,049 posts
Took a break from Leviathan to get some less dramatic stuff... or so I thought. Ended up reading Heads. Jun, an extremely polite and weak-willed young man, has managed to do all right for himself. Sure, he's a yes-man at a cell phone company with poor products, but he's fallen in love with the freckled Megumi, a girl who shares his love of painting. His life is turned upside one day when he gets caught in the middle of a hold-up in a real estate office. When the gunman goes to shoot a little girl, Jun jumps in the way of the bullet and is shot in the head.

Several weeks pass, as Jun slowly comes back to and fades out of consciousness. At last he wakes up surrounded by doctors; he is the first adult to successfully undergo a partial brain transplant. The odds of finding a matching donor were 1 in a million, but the operation was successful. However, Jun soon starts to notice some changes - he is more assertive, more outgoing, and even at times violent. He no longer paints, doesn't enjoy movies, and most disturbingly, find himself less and less interested in Megumi. As he struggles with these changes and in tracking down his brain donor, he starts to wonder: is he Jun anymore, or is he "Donor B"?

All-in-all, it's a pretty good drama, though (spoiler alert!) not necessarily a happy one. I've always been a fan of true stories of transplant owners discovering altered tastes and preferences post-op, and this is pretty much just a logical (if fictional) extension of the premise. The manga was seinen due to violence, language, and sex (though I don't think there's ever any explicit nudity), and overall pretty good.

I also read more of Ore ga Doutei o Sutetara Shinu Ken ni Tsuite (two more chapters have come out since my last review). I really like it, but the slow release rate is killing me. I sorta wish I had discovered this series a few years from now, when it's finished, because I love the concept. It's also nice to have a harem setting where the protagonist is a player attempting to NOT get laid, as opposed to a quirky loser who managed to have all the girls fall in love with him. And that aspect is an awesome counter to the insanity/violence of knowing his best friend ends up killing him in the future.
#126 May 08 2013 at 1:57 AM Rating: Good
Repressed Memories
******
21,027 posts
I think I'll check out Heads. I've been looking for something to scratch the itch left by Homunculus and Franken Fran, and this seems like it could reach around there.

I finished Biomega, and while I enjoyed it, by the end I was realizing how incredibly similar it was in nearly all respects to Blame! A somewhat similar protagonist in aesthetics, personality, backstory, and weapon. Two key factions that are initially antagonistic to the protagonist's third party, with one of the factions later becoming somewhat of an ally. A completely uncontrollable and hostile to all fourth party. Long spans of time. Time travel. Dramatic shifts in setting. A female companion. A plot relevant impregnation. It's more than just the setting (as it is related to the Blame! universe), it's the style, the milieu, the plot, all of it far too similar.

This seems to be the case of many authors with a very definitive style. While I'd say Narutaru and Bokurano were different enough to stand apart, the same guiding hand is very clearly present. Same with Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum. This is a difference from authors with less distinctive styles who seem more varied by comparison (Psychopass compared to Madoka).
Reply To Thread

Colors Smileys Quote OriginalQuote Checked Help

 

Recent Visitors: 165 All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (165)