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Manga series that you dropped?


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Reno-chan



Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 67
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:02 pm Reply with quote
I've found over the years that my biggest problem with manga is that I will really enjoy a series at the beginning, or at least be interested by it enough to keep reading, and I'll end up bored or annoyed with the series once I've bought a decent number of volumes. Inevitably it will sit on my shelf in limbo for several months, and I'll end up selling the series for shelf space and because I'm a bit of a completist and don't like having partial series.

I started this topic in the hopes that if other people have had similar experiences, they'll share what series they've had this problem with and what drove them away from it. Maybe this will prevent a few people from being disappointed in the future. Please list only series that you bought more than one volume of, since I'm more going for a "it went downhill/didn't get better" thing than a "I didn't like it to begin with" thing.

These are the series I've dropped. I tried to explain why I dropped them the best I could, but part of what attracts me to series is having a character I really care about, and if I didn't actively dislike a character, it can be tricky to say anything but "I didn't relate to the characters" or "I didn't like them."

Gravitation
This was the first shonen-ai series I picked up, and I stuck with it for 6 volumes despite not liking any of the characters except for Yuki . I finally got tired of it when K showed up, since I thought he was ridiculous and I couldn't take Shuichi's bipolar fits anymore. Shuichi sort of embodied all of the qualities I dislike in myself (being attracted to a jerk, being a spaz, being a doormat, etc.), but multiplied by a factor of 10.

Vampire Game
I think I toughed this one out for about 3 volumes. I really wanted to like it because of the vampire angle, but I couldn't relate to any of the characters. The female lead annoyed me, Duzell is an interesting (read: weird) little guy - but nothing about him really grabbed me. The odd art style didn't help.

InuYasha
Aside from the whole "Kagome! InuYasha! Kagome" thing, I liked the characters, but when it was apparent that there wasn't going to be any significant story development or character development, I bailed. Took me 11 volumes, though, since it was the first Rumiko Takahashi series I read.

Fullmetal Alchemist
I like a lot of the characters in this series, but the death of my favorite sort of soured it for me. Similarly, I enjoyed the first half of the anime, but felt it went downhill from there. I couldn't bring myself to finish the manga after watching the movie, which really ruined the franchise for me. Dropped after 9 volumes.

Death Note
I stopped at volume 7. spoiler[L's death] basically ended the series for me, since spoiler[he] was what made the series so appealing. This is the only series I've dropped that I've actually not sold and have no intention of selling. For me the series was about the spoiler[battle of wits between L and Light, and L's little successors just didn't live up to him ]from what I've seen of them (and read about them, since I didn't want to drop this series unless there was no chance that I'd enjoy it).

D.Gray-man
I'm actually confused why I didn't like this one more. It's really seems like a good, fun shonen series, the art is great, the Millennium Earl is wacky, and Komui is hilarious and appealing, he's exactly the sort of character that I normally would read a series for. But for whatever reason, I just can't bring myself to buy the third volume. I just don't care for it enough.

Lament of the Lamb

The relationship between Kazuna and Chizuna was simply too creepy for my taste. Dropped after four volumes.

Magic Knight Rayearth

I liked the first 3 books, and felt that it would have been fine if it had ended there. The story of the next ones didn't do it for me, so I just stopped with the fourth.

Rurouni Kenshin
Dropped this one after 8 volumes. The characters and story just weren't holding my interest.


Last edited by Reno-chan on Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:51 pm; edited 2 times in total
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digitalkikka



Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 462
Location: Chicago, Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:10 pm Reply with quote
Reno-chan wrote:

D.Gray-man
I'm actually confused why I didn't like this one more. It's really seems like a good, fun shonen series, the art is great, the Millennium Earl is wacky, and Komui is hilarious and appealing, he's exactly the sort of character that I normally would read a series for. But for whatever reason, I just can't bring myself to buy the third volume. I just don't care for it enough.


Wow, that's exactly how it was for me. I bought the first two volumes expecting to love it, but for some unexplainable reason, it just wasn't doing anything for me. I've recently fallen in love with the anime and I'm considering giving the manga another shot but for now, it's on my dropped list.

D.N.Angel: This was just... boring. After hearing so many good reviews, I picked up the first volume but ended up disappointed. I nearly fell asleep halfway through. Everything was so predictable and the characters were extremely generic.

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase I actually enjoyed the first volume but it ended up getting pushed down my 'buy' list and as of now, it's fallen off the list completely. It was mainly just fluff and while I wouldn't mind reading more someday, I just don't have the money to spend on a series I only have lukewarm feelings for. Oh, and Tokyopop's random editing on later volumes was a factor too Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop

That's all I can think of for now. There are plenty of titles I've put on 'hiatus' but I won't consider those dropped... for now.
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KyuuA4



Joined: 28 Sep 2006
Posts: 1361
Location: America, where anime and manga can be made
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:29 pm Reply with quote
I regret buying any of Full Metal Panic. It flat out bored me.
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Buster Blader 126



Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 1207
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:53 pm Reply with quote
Well, here's mine:

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist: I bought Vols. 1-2, because I was interested in seeing the differences between the (dubbed) anime & the manga, but I eventually decided against it. I still really like the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, but it's not worth it for me to spend my money on 22 volumes of something I've practically watched already.

Boys Be... (2nd): Bought Vols. 1-10 in chunks throughout last year. I was interested in the different types of stories that the creator made up about relationships. However, I'm now buying other titles that I have more interest in and I don't have too much money, so I decided to drop it. I'll most likely be keeping the ones I have, since some of the stories actually provide some useful advice. Wink

Death Note: Like Reno-chan, I also stopped at Vol. 7, but I heard about the deteriorating quality of it way beforehand, so I was actually planning to stop at Vol. 7. I might still buy Vol. 12 for kicks and to see how it concludes (even though I know how it ends), though.

Rurouni Kenshin: Me and a friend were going to share the series (buying random volumes of whatever he didn't have), but he decided to stop buying them indefinitely, and I didn't like it enough to buy the rest of the volumes (Vol. 18+) myself. I'll probably buy Vol. 28 sometime in the future though, for the same reasons as Death Note Vol. 12.

I also have two titles that are on hiatus:

Video Girl Ai: I really like I"s (it's my favourite series ATM) so I bought the first 2 volumes of VGA, since they're from the same creator. I really hate to say this, but the artwork turned me off quite a bit, and the story content didn't really convince me to continue for some odd reason. Since several people say that the story gets better, I'll try again at some point.
Status: Indefinite Hiatus

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad: Other than the Hyodo episodes & the episodes involving that male actor who's Maho's friend (don't remember his name), I really liked the anime. I was debating whether or not to buy the manga volumes again (since I've already watched the anime), so I bought Vols. 1-3. I have to say, Harold Sakuishi's character designs turned me off, though it was primarily the character's faces and their facial expressions. So now, I've decided to stop buying it until the manga reaches the point where the anime ended. I'll most likely not buy the volumes in-between, though I just might, due to the completist in me.
Status: Temporary hiatus until Vol. 7-8 (estimate)

& that's it for me, for now.

By the way, does anybody know which volume it is where the manga surpasses the anime?
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Murasakisuishou



Joined: 22 Jun 2006
Posts: 1469
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:41 pm Reply with quote
Get Backers: I expect to get yelled at for this one. I bought the first volume and liked it, but I just wasn't interested in it enough to keep up with the series. I thought the premise was fun, so I might pick it up again eventually.

Ranma 1/2: When I first started reading manga, I LOVED Ranma. I read up to volume 7, I think. I recieved the first and second volumes as gifts, then bought the third, but I gave up when the length of the series sunk in and sold my copies. Hopefully I'll get a decent amount for them since they're first printing and near mint. I'm not really much for romantic stuff anymore anyway (except NANA; no idea why I love it so.)

Marmalade Boy: I bought the first five volumes when my neighborhood manga shop went out of business and really liked it at first, but my interest waned. I'm deciding whether or not to sell; I may or may not buy the rest, because part of me wants to know what happens.
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Ichigo77



Joined: 10 Dec 2006
Posts: 389
Location: California
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:06 pm Reply with quote
Real Bout High School I got the first 2 volumes 3 years ago and really couldn't get into the series. It just wasn't grabbing my attention.

Fruits Basket I have volume 1 but never really caught my interest.

Chrono Crusade I have volume 1 and thought it was cool but not one of my top interests.

Rurouni Kenshin I got volume 1 when it came out but never got around to buying more because I had pretty much seen most of the anime.

Yu-Gi-Oh I have up to volume 4 but stopped 2 years ago but again since I saw the anime I kind of put it off.

Boys Be I got vol 1 almost 2 years ago and liked it but there were other series I had at the top of my list.

Inuyasha After I got vol 2 back in 05 I stopped buying them because the anime was ahead, but now I want to start buying them again since the manga goes beyond the anime, but I don't want to just buy the volume the continues after the anime because I am the kind of person that has to start with vol 1. Plus it is a long series and thats a lot of money to get up to the current volume.

The problem I have is that I always buy new series while I am reading other ones. I will be on vol 7 of one series then by vol 1 of another. Then buy 2 more vol of that series then a new series. Also when the manga comes out after the anime I would always end up buying vol 1 then putting the rest off. Out of the ones I listed I plan to buy more at one point but Real Bout High School and Fruits Basket I have no plans on buying anymore, if I do it will not be for a long time.
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Malintex Terek
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:10 pm Reply with quote
Futari Ecchi. It's made of little more than yuck and boring; I was expecting a silly harem romance, not...x_x
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Treetastic



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 164
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:08 am Reply with quote
I've found this as well. Sometimes it's annoying- you sort of want to read what happens next but have no reason to buy the manga.

Detective Conan
I read this in French, not only because of the nice slipcover format but because there were none of the distracting name changes. I enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, the series is... endless. And there are no offline stores that sell the early volumes. There's really no incentive to import the whole series either.

Wish
It wasn't a bad series, but... I don't know. I haven't read one in a while, and I'm not much into shojo anymore.

Elemental Gelade
*shudders* So horrible. Words can not describe how much I hate this manga.

Miracle Girls
The only thing on my shelf worse than Elemental Gelade. It was just so sappy and cliched. I had to read it about three times just to understand what had happened, but even then... I didn't care. Annoying characters guarding a lame secret that reminded me, if anything, of a shojo Fairly Odd Parents. Bleh.
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kolibri



Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Posts: 712
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:05 am Reply with quote
I also read first six volumes of Gravitation before getting completely frustrated with it and selling it off. Why this series has such a cult following I'll never understand - the art is ugly, characters unlikeable, events unrealistic and relationships stupid and illogical... I even tried the anime because I couldn't believe it was so awful, but in the end I had to accept it...

Another one I came to really hate was Hot Gimmick, I read first five volumes. Hatsumi is such a door mat, and I kept hoping she would wise up - she didn't and apparently won't either... Each volume had me squirming in pain (yeah, I'm a masochist to have read even five volumes - some kind of guilty pleasure). I'll be selling the ones that I do have.

And since I love Masashi Kishimoto so much, I had to give his twin brother Seishi Kishimoto and O-Parts Hunter a go. I read the first volume, and it took me like a week to do it, reading few pages here and there. A disappointment, all the shounen cliches you can possibly think of, not done in an interesting way, and all in the first volume too. No thank you.

digitalkikka wrote:
Wow, that's exactly how it was for me. I bought the first two volumes expecting to love it, but for some unexplainable reason, it just wasn't doing anything for me. I've recently fallen in love with the anime and I'm considering giving the manga another shot but for now, it's on my dropped list.

Really? That's surprising, D.Gray-Man is one of my favourite manga right now, way way better than the anime IMHO (in fact, I got frustrated with the anime and stopped watching that, now I'm just dying waiting for the next volume of manga).
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smoochy



Joined: 30 Oct 2005
Posts: 367
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 11:39 am Reply with quote
Beet the Vandal Buster- After picking up one volume of this fetid piece of tripe, I decided that was one too many.

Whistle- I've only picked up one volume, and I actually really liked it, its a stereotypical sports manga, but an enjoyable one, but it kind of just faded from memory, and I haven't gotten more volumes.
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SharinganEyes92



Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 816
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:55 pm Reply with quote
Busou Renkin - I didn't find the manga as bad as everyone claims it to be, but the fact that I was already watching the anime made me uninterested in the manga. I bought the first 2 volumes, but I never read the second one (no time and lack of interest). I may never get around to reading the second volume, but at least I supported Nobuhiro Watsuki.
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slickwataris



Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 1334
Location: Carol Stream, Illinois
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:03 pm Reply with quote
2 separate categories

thinking of dropping

Bleach
17 volumes in and they still haven't rescued Rukia. I've actually been thinking of dropping it since this arc began but didn't for unknown reasons. I loved the series when they were fighting the hollows but once they got to the soul society and there where no hollows...or Kon, it just turned into neverending mediocre shonen.
D.Gray Man
The quarterly schedule for a Viz manga turned me off. The volumes seem like a self contained story in each volume which is odd for a Viz manga. I really like the character designs, especially the Earl. I'll buy the 4th eventually and make a decision.
Eden
Despite the fact that none of the book sellers in the area sell past volume 3, my interest has been lacking as well. I really enjoyed the first half of the first volume but once the new main character took over it's just been battle to battle that lacks all of the philosophical elements that were present previously.
Dragon Head
Same availability issue as Eden except none of the stores in the area even carry it. I've bought all the volumes I have off rightstuf. In any case I only seem to enjoy the odd numbered volumes of this series which set up for the even numbered volumes. The even volumes seem to just be about running away and crazy boy trying to rape the girl and just makes me roll my eyes the entire time.
GTO: The Early Years
Yes, it's big and a good deal but I just don't find it that funny. I much preferred GTO and it's seriousness. The only thing Onizuka has on his mind is sleeping with chicks which is okay not that different than in GTO but the shock value is lost. Also since the series is old the character designs are at times hard to look at.

actually I'm runnning out of time I'll do the 2nd category later.

Buster Blader 126 wrote:

By the way, does anybody know which volume it is where the manga surpasses the anime?


12
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Saiyo_Chan



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 72
Location: U.S
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:45 pm Reply with quote
I also dropped InuYasha, once spoiler[ Kagura died.] I had, by that time, completely lost interest in the Sango/Miroku relationship, which still hadn't progressed at all, although I can see why spoiler[Miroku wouldn't want to get close to Sango, knowing he would die eventually...] but still, it seemed more like the entire story was stuck in limbo, with no character development at all, and the plot was traveling at a snail's pace. You think, at several points, that they're finally going to defeat the REAL Naraku, and....it ends up being another clone, or he escapes. With the manga now at chapter 500, it's time to END, already!
The interactions between Kagura and Sesshoumaru were really the only thing that kept me reading.

I had dropped Marmalade Boy, just due to lost interest. The only character I really liked was Miki, and to a lesser degree, her depressing best friend, Meiko. But, my mom actually picked up volume one and began reading it ( ! ), and she ended up reading all 6-or-so volumes that I had in 2-3 days. She bought me the last two volumes...mostly for her to read, but I read them anyway because...they were there. Volumes 7-8 weren't so bad, actually....I still have them sitting on my shelf, although I sold the first six.

Dragon Knights - I loved volume one (one of the first manga series I'd ever read), but was completely confused by volume two. Did the plot completely jump to a different time, or skip something? I can't remember, but I do know that they had a lot of new characters, most of which weren't explained as to their purpose to the plot. And the three Dragon Knight main characters of volume one, if I remember correctly, were pushed into the background.
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Saiyo_Chan



Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 72
Location: U.S
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:19 pm Reply with quote
Just read this from a (somewhat biased-sounding) Dragon Knights Wikipedia article:

Quote:
Dragon Knights boasts a large cast of characters and many overlapping subplots that all weave together to form a main story line. There are so many minute details that it is necessary to read through the series several times to fully understand everything that is going on, and to be able to boast a good understanding of all the characters. It is so thoroughly done that everything come back into play: side characters in the first book reappear under totally different circumstances, hidden clues to puzzles appear in random pictures, and objects briefly mentioned show up much later in the series.


Makes me feel like less of a stupid arse...Also makes me want to read DK again, unfortunately.....
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Mr.Shonen



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 269
Location: Brooklyn, NY
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:23 pm Reply with quote
smoochy wrote:
Beet the Vandal Buster- After picking up one volume of this fetid piece of tripe, I decided that was one too many.



I felt the same way.
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