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Forum - View topicRIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Shana no Kiss
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championferret
 Posts: 765 |
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I cant help but find it baffling how Saiyuki is frequently cited as the manga 'for the girls', along with stuff how its only merit is 'pretty boys', when, as a girl...I personally dont find those guys pretty at all. I think they're actually pretty hideous looking, which is what made me not ever want to read/watch it. When I heard that the 'pretty boys' was the only thing worthwhile in it, I decided I must not be missing out on anything anyway.
Am I seriously the only one who finds the Saiyuki boys unbelievably ugly...? -shrug- |
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Bara_Megami
Posts: 106 |
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YAYAYAYAYAY NEW FAUST!!! I read the first one in January, and I've been dying for a new one since...I feel bad for Carlos if he had to wait the whole year D:. My favorite last time was the "Drill Hole in My Brain", and I really liked Kohei Kadono's last time too...probably my second favorite
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But I'm excited to read Takimoto's (since NHK is my love, even if the manga ended totally "happy" which made it ring so false and...whatever, I'm rambling). Glad to see Nisinosin actually has a proper short story instead of a sample of the xxxholic novel. Never read his original work, so I'm curious. Also - no comment on Tokyopop's decidedly low-quality paper used in more recent releases? Or did the titles reviewed have decent paper? Or was Carlos keeping it classy and just focusing on the content? Finally - Saiyuki DOES = instant classic to most early-millennium fangirl. It's admittedly crap, but damn it...so gooooood...pseudo-yaoiriffic situations...it's just...hard to explain the appeal, but the contributor did a good job 
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Yes. I have almost 3000 volumes of manga (2829). Yeah, a lot of it is a blur, particularly much of the shojo stuff (which yaoi is an offshoot of) but Minekura's stuff stands out. Her boys are often skinned alive & left to bleed in the road emotionally. Raw nerve endings all exposed, kiddies. Her "boys" are hot men, not lithe bishonen that can pass for training-bra chicks. Nothing against lithe girly boys-they have their place-but it's the dif between Han Solo & Luke Skywalker. Why settle for a boy when one can have a man? I read an abridged version of the Chinese story (chopped out several chapters) but I felt Minekura's a lot closer than Toriyama. Actually the translation I read was pretty scarce on most of the crew with the Monkey King getting the majority of the action (because he is increadibly overpowered), but Sanzo WAS the leader of the crew (wimp that he was). The reviewer seemed to dis Minekura for her take on the story This one & Wild Adaptor do not come out as often as I'd like. In the last Saiyuki Reload I picked up we finally get the confrontation between Ni Jyenni & Sanzo. Not that it's over. Just a major skirmish, not the decisive battle. Bottom line-to each his/her own. Saiyuki rocks for my money. THe bishies are hot. So Minekura draws similar characters. So does Takahashi & she's done well enough for herself. It's just about pretty boys? Is it really worse than all the mindless drivel shojo titles out there that promise the moon & then settle for mediocre? Crescent Moon, Dream Saga, Full Moon, MagicalXMiracle--gotta stop now before I go into a diabetic coma from all the sugary sweet memories. I don't want smiles & sweetness. I want something that tugs at the heart or makes one think. I can get all the mindless wanderings in yaoi romance & pretty bishies to boot. But there is no need for guilt in reading Minekura's Saiyuki. I also recommend Wild Adaptor. |
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JaQiLinOtaku
 Posts: 22 Location: Australia |
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I agree 120% with CCSYueh; took the words right out of my mouth! And I don't feel guilty at all for loving the series so much. I do prefer the manga. Sanzo is the most drool worth 'bishie' to ever walk the earth and the outstanding artwork *coughsexonastickposescough* of Minekura-sensei just makes him that much hotter
 plus the story draws you in so much, emotionally and whatnot, I find myself re-reading it over and over.
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Dahling
Posts: 49 |
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O___O
You just made me jump out of my chair and cough up a lung I was so surprised. "Oh they have Saiyuki? Neat-o, I sent in one of those reviews a whil--- HOLY CRAP THAT'S MY REVIEW!!!!!!!!" Thank you heaps for actually reading and putting up (even through lack of other good material) something I wrote in the heat of the moment and didn't think would ever see the light beyond my own computer screen. <3 <3 <3 EDIT: Just cause everyone else seems to be mentioning it~... Yeah, the Saiyuki boys are pretty odd-looking. xD After 15+ volumes I've grown attached to them, but because they're just fun to read about. They've managed to kepe very seperate personalities and all, it's just fun. ^-^ And the art does get /tons/ better-- I still cringe a bit when I pick up that first volume. xD Last edited by Dahling on Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Hotaruzuki
 Posts: 58 Location: Virginia, USA |
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YAAAAAYYYYYY NEW FAUST!!!!!
Its too bad it isn't as popular as it should be. Out of the bazillion bookstores we have out where I live, there is only one who actually stocks this series. I love love loooovveeee it though~! |
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JohnnySake
 Posts: 586 Location: Auburn Hills, MI |
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What? A new volume of Shana? When did this happen? I actually gave up on waiting for next volumes of that series. Now I'll have to go look for volume four and get reacquainted with everyone.
And I'm curious about Kimi Kiss as well. I always find it interesting when a manga of a given property can make it over here while the anime is nowhere to be found. (yes, I realize they are two totally separate licensing issues) Finally, I too noticed the drastic change in Tokyopop's paper choices. Going from Burst Angel 2 to 3, it was quite different. *shakes volume three and sees how floppy it is* Maybe I'll try to ask someone (nicely) at their booth at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con. |
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The Ramblin' Wreck
 Posts: 924 Location: Teaching Robot Women How To Love |
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I agree with a previous poster.
New Shana? I figured it'd been canceled as Vol 3. came out well over a year ago. Guess I'll have to pick it back up. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I discovered the first Faust a few weeks ago, it looked interesting. I might check it out at some point though it's not too high on my list.
Takeru also sounds interesting, mainly because of the source material I must admit. I do love a good play and the idea of adapting that into manga definitely is original. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 2655 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I'm with you. I find them droopy and a bit old looking for my tastes, though I'm not going to instantly swoon over the more feminine pretty boy either. (Perhaps I prefer my males real...? Nah, probably not.  ) I'm not wild about the story either, and it has entirely too few female characters for me. I guess it's not a story whose appeal I understand. Maybe that's because I like Dream of the Red Chamber better than Journey to the West? Ah, so picky with my classic Chinese novels.
I am excited about the new Faust. My favorite last time was "F-Sensei's Pocket" (I actually couldn't get through the hole in the head story. It grossed me out.), so I'm very pleased he's got another sci fi piece. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Neither of them follow the story all that closely, although yes, Saiyuki at least includes all the characters. I'd say Dragonball is more based on the character of Monkey, not on the story of Journey to the West. That said, you're right, Sanzou (aka Xuanzang) is a total wimp in the book who always needs Monkey to save him, whereas he's a complete badass in the manga... which is frankly closer to the real Xuanzang! The real-life story of Xuanzang's journey to India is cooler than any adaptation of it, with him braving bandits and avalanches and floods against the orders of the emperor (he wasn't supposed to leave the country), all to get a set of sutras he wanted to translate. If that doesn't make you awesome, I don't know what does. |
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Carlooo
Posts: 58 |
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Can somebody post the ISBN number of Faust vol 2 again? Goethe's still making it hard to find a book with this title on online stores (since, sadly, I have to import this).
Last edited by Carlooo on Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:06 am; edited 1 time in total |
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rabrek
 Posts: 188 |
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How recently? They improved as the series progressed and Minekura's style evolved. When I go back to the early volumes, it's... an adjustment (though not on the mind-boggling scale of say, Fruits Basket v2 vs v22). |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I'm going to have to give PIXIE a try all because of the Gaiman comment, though I doubt the claim, especially with the comment on Pixie's story flow and execution. All because sometimes Gaiman can come up with the simplest, most generic idea out there, but it's the execution and flow that make him stand out.
That aside, looks like I'm going to have to give TAKERU a try. Looks like my sort of thing. Though I don't understand what's so wrong with a story going down the traditional heroic tale genre, just like some people like to go down the harem tale that is so easy to find in manga, or the cute girls with guns route. Some people just like that sort of story even if it's been done to death. Why shouldn't they? It's a story type that has worked gold for thousands of years. And performing arts having succumbed to the lure of churning out predictable genre? Performing arts CREATED those predictable genres. Still, nothing wrong with it if it's your sort of thing. Great reviews as always. You break down the description of a manga so well that I can usually tell quite easily whether the manga is my sort of thing or not. |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I read the reviews at Amazon & went with Arthur Waley's Monkey which is only 30 out of 100 chapters, but I was worried it'd be deathly boring slogging thru the wrong translation (Stereo instructions). I've been planning to get a full version, but have never gotten around to it. I might even have to look up something on the real guy, considering he wouldn't have had a centuries old monkey protecting him. I do like that Minekura's kept the heaven angle & the latest English volume brought up mention of Sanzo's mother & father which also seems in the same ballpark as the original. But Sanzo was very much the chick needing to be babysat & rescued. Almost all the artists improve as longer titles go along. I was sort of shocked when I noticed it in Saint Seiya(around the middle)-wondered if he improved or just hired better assistants. Not constant, but there are more framable pages in later volumes. And tastes differ. The droopy eyes is an acquired taste. As a 49 yr old gal, I really don't get too worked up over all the 15 yr olds & younger (10? Come on). I like the Saiyuki dudes are all safely & sincerely adults & even their childish quirks are not outside behavior I've seen in adults (Loved that Jack-in-the-Box commercial about adults needing afternoon snack time with the 2 full men in the stroller. Yep. Known a few guys like that). The story about the snow & Goku gives insight into just why Goku is so attached to Sanzo. Sanzo's pissy prima donna tude covers his own insecurities over his lack of a past because he was found floating in a river. Rather than becoming an emo boy, he became a kick-ass/who needs to know the name of the ass-kickee dude. Hakkai is beautifully dark souled behind that smile. He's a man who knows he's probably hellbound for decisions he's made (like the girlfriend) but is actually totally willing to accept his punishment. I'm not a big Gojyo fan, but he has his (mostly fanservice) moments |
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