What Manga are you reading?

[shooraijin]

This is another shojo-ridiculous manga in which historical figures like Oda Nobunaga are transformed into bishonen

Yikes.

[MangaRocks!]

So, I know that I haven't posted a proper update in ages again and that I really should do that at some point here soon, LOL; however, I just wanted to drop in real quick right now to say:


The Royal Tutor (a.k.a. Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine) manga is an absolute delight, and I heartily recommend it! <3

[Lady Arianrod]

I believe that someone mentioned Vanitas no Carte. I just started that manga too. It's interesting! I love the art.

[Yak_Forger]

I've recently read the first volume of Otoyomegatari, a manga about life in 19th century Central Asia by an author who visibly is fascinated by this region and era. It's a masterpiece through and through, with gorgeous drawings and sympathetic characters! The cultural norms are different from ours, but they don't come from someone's weird imagination, but from actual, real-life historical practices.

[Lady Arianrod]

I agree, Otoyomegatari has excellent art. I believe that the same author created Emma, which is also excellent.

I just completed the latest Vanitas no Carte chapter. I re-read the Death Note manga as well.

[ClaecElric4God]

Been working on my Japanese with Artelier Collection: Shitateya Koubou, which is super super fun and I wish they would make an anime out of. Whoever's in charge of deciding that a manga is popular enough for an adaptation made an extreme oversight.

[Lady Arianrod]

It looks like a great manga! I will check it out. I have been reading Tokyo Ghoul and Vanitas no Carte lately.

[agasfas]

Currently reading Boku no Hero Academia Chapter 135.

[Kaori]

Dear everyone still reading this thread:

So, Imuri (sci-fi-fantasy-political-action-thriller) continues to be incredibly good. I just finished volume 24, and despite all the blood-soaked twists and turns the story has taken, this volume had some really great messages in it. I was also just amazed by how SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a certain incredibly adept schemer, just when he seemed like he actually was going to submit to the good guys, has started breathing new schemes again.



Coincidentally, just as I finished reading v. 24 (the evening of the 10th EST), volume 25 went on sale in Japan (the 11th), and it is the #1 bestseller on Amazon.co.jp in the sci-fi category right now. Somebody really needs to license this in English.

[Kaori]

Sometime in the 10 months since I last posted in here:

Pokemon Adventures (Pocket Monsters Special) vv. 1-14. (Red/Blue/Green, Yellow, and Gold/Silver/Crystal arcs).

Reasons people should read this manga:

3. For the battles. Take this with a grain of salt, as apparently get more and more shonen-ridiculous as they go on, coming up with more and more ridiculous ways to create a dramatic climax involving every main character so far (a number which gets bigger with each story arc). However, in the first story arc in particular I did find the tactics and strategies the characters came up with to be creative and interesting, so those were a lot of fun to read.

2. For the monsters. I particularly loved the dynamic way that Mato (the artist for volumes 1-9) drew pokemon. She had a charming art style with a lot of energy and it felt like the pokemon really came to life. It is really a shame she wasn't able to continue due to her injury.

1. For the characters. Given that the games have silent protagonists, and even characters who do speak, like Red's rival Green (/Blue in the English translation), don't have a lot of characterization, it was really enjoyable seeing characters like Red come to life. Read the manga, and all of a sudden Red actually has a personality! Also (although the way female characters are treated in this shonen manga irks me sometimes), I really love all the main female characters so far. Blue (/Green in the English translation), Yellow, and Crystal (absolutely awesome character, incredibly competent and strong in mind and body both). Also really liked the concepts for Green (male) (not just "a jerk" but a cool and collected trainer with a style and personality opposite to Red's) and Silver (on a mission and willing to do whatever it takes to reach his objective, even if it means resorting to means like theft). That leaves Gold as the only main character whose personality I don't care for at all.

I do not recommend reading this manga for its plot, but if you can get a kick out of a shonen manga that is ridiculous in only the way that shonen manga can be (kind of like watching and getting a kick out of B films for their cheesiness), and have any fondness or nostalgia for the Pokemon franchise at all, it is worth checking out.