Forum - View topicTramps Like Us-(and other josei manga)
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wanderer
 Posts: 77 |
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I've really been enjoying Tramps Like Us as a slightly more grown-up alternative to all of the high-school shojo I own. I like that the characters are older (post-college) but are still in the figuring-out- what-I-want phase of life. The human-pet idea is also interesting...
At first I was annoyed at how the heroine, Sumire, approached her relationships (particularly with Hasumi-sempai) and how she has the attitude of conforming to what she thinks a man wants in a woman at the cost of losing herself. But then I thought about the truth in her behavior because a lot of women do things that. I think ideas like that are handled very well here. I get a little frustrated reading this because its clear that spoiler[she's in love with Momo, what with how she thinks/cares/worries/wants to be with him all the time, even when she's with Hasumi. But she ignores those feelings and tries to convince herself that Momo is "just a pet" and that being with Hasumi is the only right way because he's the more socially acceptable partner. The fact that Hasumi does love her and is such a great guy was a good desicion by the author because having him be an ass would make the story boring and overly predictable. I really like both Momo and Hasumi and think either one would be a good choice for her.] I think this is a plausible situation that women might find themselves in and I'm enjoying reading how it plays out. Anyways, I think this is a great read with realistic likeable characters (even down to the co-workers at the office), and believeable situations, with the human-pet being the exception  . I prefer this greatly to Happy Mania which I found unbearable. The main character(forget her name) was unbelieveably flighty and almost insultingly stupid. I couldn't get into it and stopped reading after vol.3. I've read that it gets better but I don't see how  ...
Any thoughts or discussion would be greatly appreciated  . Recommendations for similar manga are welcome, too. ( I think josei is the correct term) I'd like to find more stories like this but I'm not sure if they're out there.
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kaitoueesu
 Posts: 116 Location: Findlay |
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I liked this series...and I was suprised because it seemed really weird.
Momo is probably one of the greatest characters in there and the funniest. He does so much random stuff and I think that's why he's my favorite character. Happy mania would be a great choice for another manga read if you really did like Tramps Like Us. |
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xjadedragon750x
Posts: 263 Location: Chinatown |
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Happy Mania would NOT be a good read if you like tramps Like Us for it's originality. Or whatever it is. I thought Happy Mania was so BADLY drawn, with strange-looking characters and even more pointless plots. I enjoy Tramps Like Us more than I thought I would, because...I have no idea why. I do admit that Happy Mania is similar, even the art at some points, but I DO NOT like Happy Mania. I don't know why either. I suppose the reason why I enjoy this title has to do with...the title. I don't know what it was in Japanese, but the English title has NOTHING to do with what goes on in the story. (Tramps...equals prostitutes? This is what I think, yet I am extremely unclear on these subjects) Each volume has a conflict involving Sumire and Hasumi, and another one with Momo and Sumire. For example, spoiler[Momo's run away twice so far, yet he always returns before the volumes over.] The layout of the story according to each volume leaves you with a satisfactory feeling when you finish one, and at the same time makes you want to read the next, although not as urgently as a, say, sports manga would when it's at a crucial point in the game (Like Slam Dunk Vol. 5--Raijin just HAD to stop!). What is josei? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the term... |
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quincyarcher
 Posts: 164 Location: Age of Paranoia |
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Well, I enjoyed Happy Mania, but I can see where it's quite a limited field of enjoyment for many. Albiet I enjoy it more because I can laugh at the heroine(like I can at the hero in Moyoco Anno's Flowers and Bees) rather than for purposes of romance.
Josei manga hasn't really hit stateside too hard. Erica Sakurazawa might be your best bet. Petshop of Horrors was also written for women, if you have not yet dabbled in it you might find it interesting(although it is assuredly not romance). Clamp's The One I Love might also be your style. If you can bring yourself to shell out $10 for such a skinny book. Other titles that might be of interest are Nurse Call, Bride of Deimos, and My Sassy Girl. |
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wanderer
Posts: 77 |
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I was thinking the same thing about the artwork in Happy Mania. I wasn't crazy about it and was put off at first by Tramps Like Us because it is a bit similar. But I DO know what I don't like about Happy Mania, at least to the point I've read. As you stated, the plots seemed a bit pointless and not sufficiently fleshed out. She wanted to be wanted and to find the right person, similarly to Sumire in TLU. But Happy Mania girl (still have to look up her name) went about it by spoiler[falling in and out of bed with anyone and everyone, including other people's boyfriends, seemingly for no other reason than to prove she could.] The characters in Happy Mania have no depth for me, so it's hard to take her seriously and believe in what she supposedly wants, when what she does is depicted so shallowly. I found it a little surprising that a woman would write her heroine like that. On the other hand, Sumire spoiler[has several relationships] in the course of three volumes as well, but the whats, whys, and hows are all explained so that her actions seem to have purpose. I found it much easier to relate to and understand Sumire's behavior, both good and bad, because I knew more about her and her motivation.
The Japanese title, I believe is Kimi wa Pet. And you're right, 'tramps' can mean 'prostitutes', but I think it may be used differently here  . In the context of this book, 'tramps' has more to do with someone who is homeless or hasn't found a place to belong (some snippets from dictionary.com's definition states;" a disreputable vagrant; "a homeless tramp" ", and "move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment") I think it's more of a direct reference to spoiler[Momo literally having no place to live and coming to live with Sumire (note the emphasis on how he loves her feeding him!) and more abstractly, how Sumire slowly begins to find where (or with whom) she belongs with Momo.] Ironically, if you go with the prostitute definition of tramp; 'Tramps Like Us' would also be a fitting title for Happy Mania  .
There is a definition of josei in this web site's Lexicon here. |
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wanderer
Posts: 77 |
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Perhaps if yaoi does well, more focus will be given to josei in the US. I realize its apples and oranges, but they are sort of aimed at a similar demographic, so maybe someone will pick up on that ( wishful thinking).
Thanks for the recommendations, quincyarcher. I've heard a lot of good things about Petshop of Horrors but I've never seriously thought about checking it out, I think because its listed as horror(?). I should give it a look... I did pick up The One I Love and really liked it. I thought it was really sweet and talked about the many different aspects of love in an honest, simple, and sensitive way. Although, it still would have been nice to see those stories more fleshed out. I've read one of Erica Sakurazawa's books, I don't remember which one, or if I liked it or not , but I'll give it another look. I haven't heard much about the last three, but I think I remember seeing My Sassy Girl somewhere. I prefer stories about relationships and the like, but I'm definitely not averse to trying something different .
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xjadedragon750x
Posts: 263 Location: Chinatown |
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[quote="wanderer"
Thanks for the recommendations, quincyarcher. I've heard a lot of good things about Petshop of Horrors but I've never seriously thought about checking it out, I think because its listed as horror(?). I should give it a look... I've read one of Erica Sakurazawa's books, I don't remember which one, or if I liked it or not , but I'll give it another look. I haven't heard much about the last three, but I think I remember seeing My Sassy Girl somewhere. I prefer stories about relationships and the like, but I'm definitely not averse to trying something different .[/quote]
I really enjoyed Pet Shop of Horrors, and although it is listed as horror, there is hardly any of it in there, except for the few times that might be slightly heart-stopping, if you really are such a timid person, such as when spoiler[Count D is about to be carved up as a delicacy] but it's mainly just about Count D and Leon the detective (And his brother, Chris), and the various pets people come to own. The pets do die or kill sometimes, and there's the slowly-getting-old thing of Leon trying to arrest D on account of illegal business transactions, but he doesn't get anywhere. Anyway, I really recommend it. Erica Sakurazawa's works don't really appeal to me, but I checked it out because it was real-life stories, I suppose. The one I did read was the one...Angel and bedsheet something-like-that-or-another. It's about a timid yet bossy girl/woman who was somewhat in love with her best friend, who has more than one boyfriend at once. It progresses from there and spoiler[the girl (whose name DOES NOT stick in my head) eventually a sort of side affair with one of her friend's boyfriends and her friend finds out her true feelings.] I haven't read another since, but I don't think I will. The artwork isn't bad but it's very sloppy. By "isn't bad" I mean better than Happy Mania or Flowers and Bees. I'm not sure whether to see what My Sassy Girl is about or not. It's based on the Korean movie of the same name, but the artwork looks very rough on a preview.[/quote] |
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