Forum - View topicWhat are you reading right now? Why?
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shoujogirl
Posts: 42 |
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The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross-Adorable shojo manga about a former delinquent girl who falls in love with the school's student body president and joins the student council to be with him. I love Arina Tanemura's manga! This is my favorite so far!
Ouran High School Host Club- It's about a poor girl at a rich kids' school who meets a club made up of 6 hot teenage boys and then bumps into an 8 million dollar vase and breaks it, so she must pay for it by working at the host club as a boy! So funny! I can't wait for the next chapter! La Corda D'Oro- Fairy gives girl with no musical talent a magic violin so that she can compete in the school's music contest. I didn't think I would like it, but I did! |
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aya_honda
 Posts: 920 Location: Around here |
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Togari finished
I have finished Togari and in spite of the fact that I liked the manga so much, the final volume kind of ruined it. I didn't expected for the things to end up this way especially because I thought that the way things were evolving, it will definetly put an end spoiler[ at least to Tobe's fight with the others by seeking a definite solution for his problem and his working with the wooden sword Togari.  ] But the final volume dragged the things and I was becoming concerned whether the entire problem would be solved which spoiler[ it didn't happen since Yoshinori Natsume has decided to create an open ending. ] Normally I wouldn't be complaining about that, because I am used to it and sometimes I actually enjoy it, but this time there were too many things which needed to have been clarified. I don't regret reading it, it was an interesting experience but it could have turned into a really great series if Yoshinori Natsume had decided to go a little longer with it.
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge (known also as The Wallflower, Perfect Girl Evolution) volumes 10-12 The things are going slowly with this story and sometimes I would like Sunako-chan to finally get over herself and see Kyouhey as she should (my romantic alter ego dreams of it at least  ) but I still enjoy the story much more than I would have expected at the beginning. And it always surprises me with sometimes strange sense of humour.  It amuses me and keeps me optimistic.
Last edited by aya_honda on Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Right now I'm reading Nana, the hit shojo series by Ai Yazawa. IT combines comedic elements with slice of life drama, so far it hasn't been so bad. The two girls though don't meet each other until volume 2, which when I read volume one it kind of presented itself as a prequel to the actual storyline.
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asimpson2006
 Posts: 3151 Location: USA |
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I don't have any manga at the moment that I am reading but I did finish some last week.
Full Metal Panic Vol 2-3 - I got some good laughs out of this. I really enjoyed the part where spoiler[Tessa becomes a student at the school where Sousuke goes.] I laughed a good bit with that one. Comic Party Vol 1 - I though it was good so far and got some laughs out of it. Boys Be.. Vol 1-2 - A little disappointed with this one. I don't like the whole idea of a bunch of short stories for the manga. It seems like like something goes good between two people then BAM, now characters and new story. Ai Yori Aoshi vol 2-4 - The character development is getting really good here. I have some problems with all the constant fan service and talks of breasts, it gets a little overwhelming at times. |
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lilie
Posts: 19 Location: in this world |
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SAMURAI DEEPER KYO
i've been reading it for quite some time it it's still going strong. They are so many loveable characters. NANA On of the best shojo manga great characters, story,music (from the anime). You have everything in Nana romance ,drama, complexe charaters. What i like about it the most is the fact the the readers can identified with some of the charaters. DETECTIVE CONAN Currently im at book 53. To say the truth i just want an ending it feels like its been going on forever. But it will probably go on for years to come. NARUTO I almost gave up on Naruto after watching the first 50 episodes i thought the anime was wayyyyy to slow so i started to read the manga and i realize that naruto was actually good with a lot of great charaters. The anime reminded me too much of the slow pacing and fillers that dbz used to have. FRUITS BASKET I loveeee it has one of the most compelling characters ever, the story is pretty much unique and most of the characters are likeable. SPIRAL I wached the first few episodes of the anime i thought it was pretty cool but i realize the anime ended before the manga so i stop watching the anime i figured the anime probably rushed the ending so i starded to read the manga instead and it's pretty intriging the blade chidren are pretty complexe so far so good. |
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AnimeCon
 Posts: 52 Location: USA |
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Hikaru no Go ~ On volume three so far. Its actually a really good manga, I remember reading a few chapters from Shonen Jump a few years ago.
Shaman King ~ I'm on Volume 6 right now. I read it before, but going back. Hellsing Volume 3 ~ REALLY good so far. Never read a horror manga before. Fruits Basket ~ Reading volume 1 now. Not too interested, but hope it gets better. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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I've completed to first volume of To Aru Majutsu no Index ("A Certain Magical Index") a little while ago and am unequivocally looking forward to the next one. While waiting for the anime coming this October, I decided to try out the manga and am enjoying the story so far. It's nicely paced, introducing only a few characters while explaining significant points about the psychic/magic worlds, then getting into a little action along with a pretty entertaining final chapter. The magical aspects of the series are really interesting, as well as the psychical, but I'd definitely like to see more magic later on. Touma's power in his hand is curious because it's both helpful and harmful to himself and others; and Index is an entertaining and lovable character, and she's already my favorite.
It'd be nice to read the original novels if those ever happen to see the light of day over here. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Bradherley's Coach-A Hiroaki Samura collection that combines his two favorite things: sympathetic, nuanced portrayals of women, and scenes where they meet horrible, horrible fates. I swear, the guy is like an insane Kenji Mizoguchi. Anyways, the plot makes no sense but in terms of emotional intensity some of these stories are right up there with anything he's done in Blade with plenty of masterful (and non-sensational) storytelling. The shock level is so high that I suspect many people will find it too difficult to read, but
Japan Tengu Party Illustrated-I'm re-reading this and man is it awesome. I'm not sure if I'd put it above Sexy Voice and Robo, but its damn close. Page after page of musings about contemporary Japanese identity disguised as whimsical insanity. I know that sounds weird, but the epic story is as readable and compelling as Akira. |
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Highway Star
 Posts: 227 Location: Ireland |
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Japan Tengu sounds interesting, to say the least. I'll check it out after I finish off Kuroda's other shorts first...
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Good-Bye - Latest Tatsumi collection. Some of his best work here (Hell being a particular stand-out, in spite of the Tezuka-like preachiness), yet not as hard-hitting as Abandon the Old in Tokyo. Can't quite place my finger on why.
Still manages to capture the grim and depressing atmosphere that feels like it's stolen from a time capsule. Arguably more affecting than Ode to Kirihito. He also expands from three types of character designs for males and females to a half-dozen! Red Colored Elegy - Completely unlike anything else legally available in English, or anything else I've read, for that matter. Have no idea how I feel about it, other than I love the visual look and flow of the book. Eventually became so absorbed in the aesthetics that I stopped attempting to critically analyze it and entered a trance-like state. Will have to read this one in the near-future. Shirley - Early efforts from the critically-acclaimed Emma manga-ka, Kaoru Mori. If nothing else, all of the shorts here (with the exception of the last one) are charming enough to make up for the naiveté that Mori so humorously obsesses over in her always-funny afterword. The aforementioned last story, Mary Banks, is the exception to the endearing yet uneven amateur tales. It hints at the maturity the creator would later display in Emma, with a consistently amusing on-going joke and satisfying ending. (Or maybe I have a weakness for this type of female character.) |
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Kenshin_Himura93
 Posts: 45 |
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Hello everyone,
I am currently reading "[i]Rurouni Kenshin[/i]". I absolutelly LOVE this manga. i only have one real complaint: When there are battles, or someone strikes someone else, sometimes it is hard to see what's what. But it is no big problem. I am collecting the VizBig edition of the series, until i pick up the 4th instalment on October 7th of this year. After that, i am collecting the regular volumes. I do not want to wait for the VizBig edition because the series is so good. 
Overall, i love the VizBig edition because the pages are clearer, and there are occasional color scenes, instead of the normal "black and white". Also, there are charachter profiles and backgrounds, as well as occasional notes from the author. (Also looking to get into another manga/anime. If there is a thread about this already, please let me know. Or, if you have any recommendations for me, please feel free to tell me via PM. thanks) |
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Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
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I just finished this last night. I thought a few of the stories were as hard hitting as in the previous collections (I loved Night Falls Again - it's like an antidote for fanservice manga) but I agree it's not got quite so brutal an impact overall. I thought the art was a little bit looser as well but maybe that's just me. In any case, it's still better than 99% of the works that comprise the rest of the (English) market so I'm not complaining. What really piqued my interest was the bit of the interview with Tatsumi in which he talked about his forthcoming autobiographical manga, A Drifting Life. I already knew it was due out next year but I had no idea it was so big (820 pages) - I just presumed it was going to be a similar sort of size to the short story anthologies.
Glad to hear it. I bought Red Colored Elegy at the same time as Good-bye but haven't got round to reading it yet. |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Berserk 24 [Re-read] - Slowly, but surely, Miura continues to give Berserk the scope and background that an epic deserves.
Favorite chapter of the entire series, in fact, is smack-dab in the middle of the volume: "The Astral World." Just love that kind of mythology, and it's fascinating to see Miura weave real-world concepts together. The final two-page spreads is also one of the best in the story. One thing that leaves me a bit confused, though: spoiler[Schierke remarks that there is a trinity: our physical world, the Astral World and the World of Idea.] Anyone familiar with the "lost chapter" of Berserk should remember spoiler[the God that was created from human's desires and governs all fate: the Idea of Evil.] Seems simple enough to connect the dots. However, it is quickly alluded that spoiler[the Abyss, where ego is shed (as Griffith does when he meets the Idea of Evil) is part of that Astral World. However, it would make more sense to have the created-God reside in the World of Idea.] So, either I'm missing something obvious, or else spoiler[the World of Idea can be considered its own separate "realm," but something that is more overtly connected to the Astral World than that to our physical world.] ... And on a lighter note, this is also one of the most consistently fun volumes of Berserk, frequently delivered by Puck. "Aha! So that's why Farny couldn't see me at first. But now that she's seen enough scary stuff..." *Rubs on her face.* "Savor the taste." Bradherley's Coach - Well, this isn't too happy. It is probably the best thing Samura has ever done, though. Ohikkoshi is a mixed bag (though an excellent one) that isn't as tonally consistent as I'd like. Blade of the Immortal takes a couple volumes to rev up, and the prison arc is quite dull. The only real danger Bradherley's Coach faces is that Samura could venture into either tasteless exploitation or drawn-out "emotional tragedy porn" (of which is common enough in anime and manga). Thankfully, he does neither. Favorite short has to be the sixth one. It baits you with a sense of hope and offers a few, dare I say, light-hearted moments. Also posits an interesting question: spoiler[would lie to the girl and make her last longer until her heartbraking revelation, or stay shut and let her waste away more swiftly?] Ultimately, though, I didn't find it as... ugly as pretty much everyone else has. I mean, it's horrific, but I've been put-off by far more in manga (and less viscerally punishing, too). The key to that repulsion in a lot of readers, I think, is the fact that the book is of a sexual nature. Perhaps my view is too unemotional and pragmatic, but I've always viewed rape as a form of torture that is commonly finite; as such, the extremities I've seen declared -- rape being worse than cold-blooded murder, for instance -- has never made sense to me. If the book was, instead, about incredibly sadistic experiments of torture with the sexual element removed, I'd suspect people would be less uncomfortable. |
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auberginedreams
Posts: 29 |
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Right now I'm reading Death Note. I've already seen the entire anime series about three times, but now I'm going back to read the manga. I'm on volume 6 right now.
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Me and the Devil Blues Volume 01 [Jp. Volumes 01-02] - Best manga release of 2008 so far. No question. It's a no-brainer for seinen fans, but anyone who has a love for great characterization, art, music, etc. needs to pick this up, as well.
Me and the Devil Blues is a fictional account of arguably the most famous and important bluesman ever, Robert Johnson, with a twist of the supernatural and an enthralling play with history (a Mr. Clyde Barrows is introduced before the last volume ends, and is the catalyst for events in the second half of this volume). It's an ambitious work that demands attention to character and setting, and Hiramoto more than meets the minimum. RJ (as he is known in the manga) and Clyde's personas are very human; the former's motivations and interests revealed gradually during the methodical first half and the latter's after a particularly tense stand-off early in the second half. Their foibles only add dimensions and make them more empathetic. And Hiramoto makes sure we care for them, particularly when the tension is jacked up for two life-threatening situation. This is identifiably the rural South of the 1920s and 30s, with barren landscapes, rich white lander owners and racial bigotry lending an authentic atmosphere to the plot. The translations also is up for the challenge, coming across rather natural with incredibly few instances of stilted dialogue. But the biggest attraction? The art. Goddamn, Hiramoto is one of the best artists in manga I've ever seen. The cover is certainly not misleading -- he's really that damn good. It should also be mentioned that he seems to really reach his desires around page 300 -- the spoiler[conservation between RJ and Clyde at the campfire] is utterly beautiful. From then on he never looks back, and the art only gets better as it goes on. So, if you've gotten to the end of this half-assed review/blurb, I have to ask: what's keeping you from buying (if you haven't already)? Me and the Devil Blues is a phenomenal work that's truly unlike anything out there in manga, both in the United States AND Japan. |
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