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GATSU
Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15585
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:47 pm
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Quote: | Honestly ... Tezuka's top-tier works have spoiled me. Dororo, although still above average, is a genre-driven potboiler that doesn't really reach the heights that the grand old master is capable of. |
You'll appreciate it more if you play the game.
I'm also surprised you thought Muhyo 4 was better than Gun Blaze West, though, since the former series is getting tedious too soon.
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Shadowrun20XX
Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Posts: 1936
Location: Vegas
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:59 pm
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GATSU wrote: |
Quote: | Honestly ... Tezuka's top-tier works have spoiled me. Dororo, although still above average, is a genre-driven potboiler that doesn't really reach the heights that the grand old master is capable of. |
You'll appreciate it more if you play the game.
I'm also surprised you thought Muhyo 4 was better than Gun Blaze West, though, since the former series is getting tedious too soon. |
The game got terrible reviews when it came out.Screw the reviews,Blood will tell(Dororo) is great.I started collecting Manga again.Couple good ones here,always down for some Yuri.I'd pick up Gun Blaze West but I heard it was discontinued. Big fan of Kenshin though.
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zerokiryu
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Posts: 20
Location: Toledo, Ohio
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:01 am
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I know how you feel about the live-action Absolute boyfriend. It sucks badly.
And you forgot how they turned Gaku into an old man, he was one of my favorite characters.
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Asrialys
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 1164
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:46 am
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Kannazuki no Miko is out already? So behind on all my manga. Anyway, the "YFR" was in volume 2 was it not?
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Kagemusha
Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:58 am
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GATSU wrote: |
Quote: | Honestly ... Tezuka's top-tier works have spoiled me. Dororo, although still above average, is a genre-driven potboiler that doesn't really reach the heights that the grand old master is capable of. |
You'll appreciate it more if you play the game.
I'm also surprised you thought Muhyo 4 was better than Gun Blaze West, though, since the former series is getting tedious too soon. |
Heh heh, still trying to sell that game, are we?
Honestly, Dororo struck me as a breath of fresh air compared to Apollo's Song and MW, which were both thematically complex but for the most part disappointed as actual narratives (especially the former). Tezuka's heavy-handed, preachy approach gets old sometimes, so Dororo was a nice break with its pulp-stylings and harsh pessimism. A minor work for sure, but it also serves as a hold-over for Black Jack's return.
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Oronae
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 165
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:39 am
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I've yet to be particularly impressed by any of Vertical's Tezuka offerings. Even Ode to Kirihito which was the best of what they've brought over so far had some really contrived and stupid plot points. Though none of his works have proven to be a particularly dissatisfying read (with the exception of the end of MW which was painfully stupid). I'm looking forward to Black Jack and hoping that it will be a stronger work overall.
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narutoismybrother
Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Posts: 198
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:50 am
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Well in reference to that Absolute Boyfriend comment, since I haven't gotten a chance to read the manga yet I love the jdorama. The live-action series is what's making me want to buy the manga just to see what's so completely different about it. So I guess the live-action series is good for those who haven't read the manga yet, because I love it. Maybe I should check out the manga once it's over so I don't get pissed. XP
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geishageek
Joined: 28 Nov 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Pleasant Valley, NY
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:08 am
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I am enjoying the live action Absolute Botyfriend as well. The guy who plays Night is a bit stiff looking (as I've only ever seen him a Tsuchiyama in Gokusen 2 so there really isnt much to compare) but I hope he loosens up as the story progresses. I like the Soshi is her boss aspect. It just a different take on the matter (And I cant say I overly enjoyed the manga). This is more refreshing in a way.
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marie-antoinette
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:06 am
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I've only watched the first episode of the Absolute Boyfriend drama, but I've liked the changes so far. Probably because I don't greatly care for the original source material (I likely wouldn't even bother reading it if it wasn't for Watase Yuu being the mangaka...and it does have some good moments...but overall it really isn't that wonderful). I think they may have gone a bit overboard with Soshi though, as at least the other characters do resemble their manga counterparts a bit.
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prime_pm
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2372
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:45 am
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Quote: | Characters are obsessed with detailing how each and every one of their moves work. Manga authors, take note: when one of your characters begins spouting DDR arrows to move other characters around, we really don't need you to explain the exact mechanism that allows her to. |
Thank you! I can't even watch Naruto anymore because of all that crap! I could literally walk out, grab a calzone, return, and still shiv one of them by the time they're done talking about how they're gonna hit me.
Filler arc didn't help either, but that's another medium.
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GATSU
Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15585
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:41 am
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What's with the mw hate? That manga is creepy.
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Mr. Toto
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 139
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 11:06 am
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Quote: | Characters are obsessed with detailing how each and every one of their moves work. Manga authors, take note: when one of your characters begins spouting DDR arrows to move other characters around, we really don't need you to explain the exact mechanism that allows her to. |
I'm actually not sure that this is true. The only things that I've seen explained in the series are things that need to be explained in order to make sense.
Also, Syd isn't even a generically drawn black man! I don't know what manga the reviewer's been reading, but most series typically give black people large pink lips and bulgy eyes (or don't use them at all). In Soul Eater, the character designs for black people actually are consistent with everyone else.
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Teriyaki Terrier
Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 5689
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:16 pm
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Quote: | EVIDENCE FOR:
What do you get when "the Kenshin guy" decides to go all-American? A rip-roaring Wild West adventure! The opening chapters of Gun Blaze West are everything that boyhood dreams are made of: a pistol-wielding kid who longs for adventure, a scruffy outlaw who ends up a hero, and a sneering villain who's only a handlebar mustache short of being the perfect Wild West baddie. Interestingly, the best part of the opening story arc doesn't revolve around Viu himself, but the gunslinger Marcus, who starts out as a petty thief but eventually reforms and ends up being the most influential figure of Viu's youth. Things really hit a high point in Chapter 4, with the beautifully staged gunplay in Marcus's duel against gangleader Bill Kenbrown (the aforementioned sneering villain). Besides that, there are plenty of other eye-catching action scenes—the moment that Viu first fires a real gun in Chapter 1, Marcus and Viu's training montage, and the moment that Viu reaches the goal that Marcus set for him. It's an epic adventure with an epic beginning—and that's probably a good sign.
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Great review Mr. Santos, this part of the review has conviced me to give this manga a chance. I might actually enjoy this manga. Aftet you wrote the first sentence, I was determined to read the rest, including evidence against.
Quote: | We're only one volume in, but this one's already rifling through a whole checklist of plot devices that includes "I gotta get stronger!", a seemingly pointless training exercise, a bold but stupid sacrifice, an item of great destiny, and a time skip in the storyline. (At least it doesn't involve fantasy warriors or the supernatural for once...) And then there's the whole deal with Viu as a 9-year-old being a real brat—he runs around trying to pick fights and generally being an idiot, which is perhaps why Marcus is the more appealing character in this volume. Heck, just looking at Viu annoys me. |
I can't say I am surprized at all. Just like in any other shonen series, there is always a young character who uses the WAY overdone line "I have to get stronger". Oddly enough though, I thought of HunterXHunter when I read this section of the reivew. While this does look like a promising series, I have to remember this series could just be a generic wild west series.
Thank you for the review of manga titles Mr. Santos, It feels like ages have passed since the last Right Turn Only. Great work again.
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Oronae
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 165
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:54 pm
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GATSU wrote: | What's with the mw hate? That manga is creepy. |
Oh, I wont argue with you there. I greatly enjoyed most of the book. It's just that Tezuka botched the ending so badly that it really didn't matter anymore. Can anyone explain why they had to sneak his twin brother aboard the plane? Other than so Tezuka can have his unbeleivable twist ending? They certainly didn't know that the child had been told to gas everyone if anyone but Yuki tried to take the bag from him... And given that Yuki is a murderer who's killed dozens of people and tried to steal chemical weapons from an American base... I'd like to think they'd have at least fingerprinted the survivor...)
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Andrew Cunningham
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 526
Location: Seattle
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Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:33 pm
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Wow, that Soul Eater review could not be more misguided if you wrote it on opposite day. One of the best shonen books there is, and it keeps getting better and better and shedding the few cliches it started out with.
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