Manga....

[FarrIL]

Alright, who here reads Manga (( Japanese Comics ))? I'm very curious.....

What titles do you recommend? Which titles sucked? Which ways do you prefer reading manga (( Japanese format, right to left? or American? ))

Personally, I'm a nut for Manga. Titles I'd recommend are Confidential Confessions (( older teen )), Mars, Kazan, Paradise Kiss, Saiyuki (( oh HELL yes )) and Petshop of Horrors.

The only title up there that ISNT read in Japanese format is Kazan. If you dont recognize the title OR the creator, Gaku Miyao, you might recognize one of his animated works, Devil Hunter Yohko (( not a bad story either, although I've only seen movie 4 or 5 )).

So..... fire at will. =3

[pomba gira]

In spite of my lifelong interest in Japanese culture/art I didn't seriously get into manga & anime till a couple years ago. Making up for lost time, tho- prolly 80% of my reading these days is manga. I subscribe to Shonen Jump but mainly prefer more adult stuff... right now I'm trying to complete my collection of Raijin back issues (only 4 to go!). Some titles I like are:

One Piece, Naruto, Shaman King, YuYu Hakusho, Dragonball Z (these are all in SJ and are much edgier than the anime versions which are heavily edited); Saiyuki (drool!), Petshop of Horrors, Keiji, Fist of the Blue Sky, Bow Wow Wata, Bleach, and Trigun. Oh, and how could I forget Lone Wolf & Cub!

As far as which titles suck... I have very little tolerance for most shojo: "oh no! How can I tell Keiko my true feelings?" "oh no! What if Tetsuo finds out how I really feel?" "oh no! what if Tetsuo and Keiko find out I'm really a boy/girl!" (repeat for next 200 episodes). Sports titles bore me, too.

I prefer the Japanese format, since you're seeing the story the way the manga-ka intended. I do like it when the sound effects are translated tho... altho I need that less as I get more familiar with them (Raijin had a great feature where they would explain different sound effects each week/month).

[Shade Everdark]

I myself much prefer classical Japanese literature to most manga.

That said, I have a few copies of City Hunter, and the entire series of both Akira and Area 88. All in the original Japanese.

[FarrIL]

Not all Shojo is love stories.

Petshop of Horrors is just that....... Horror. And with Shojo, most main characters are female (( think Sailor Moon )). However, in petshop of Horrors, the main characters are male. =3 Mmmm, Leon Orcot.

[Slept with ghost]

ive only read one of cowboy bebop really and a little bit of full metal panic but other then that i havent had much of a chance to read any

[Head Wreck]

got a few translates here.

hellsing

trigun

been looking for a copy of blood 2000 (based after the anime movie)

[FarrIL]

got a few translates here.

hellsing

trigun

been looking for a copy of blood 2000 (based after the anime movie)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hellsing is good, but I only have volume 1 of the manga....... ;;___;;

[gothicmom]

Not my thing, but my daughter loves them! She prefers the japanese style, "because it's cool and different!!!" =) She's 13

She started watching Sailor Moon and Pokemon ( before it was popular) in kindergarten!!!

Now she likes Shaman King, YuYu Hakusho, and Eniasha (no clue how to spell that!!!) . She also has a subscription to Shonen Jump . She's a nut for it.

As for watching it, she'll stay up all night to catch the junk on adult swim.

[Slept with ghost]

your daughter should probally check out new type magazine they usually have a small manga in there and alot of info about anime plus a anime in every issue! heh they should be paying me for this

[gothicmom]

thanks dave.

I forgot she just started a series called Chobits.

[ZhukovCodeslinger]

20 years ago I liked the Robotech stuff (japanese not the USA crap)

The only Manga I have purchased recently would be the "Battle Royale" series (with all the school kids battling to the death on a deserted Island.... as a TV show)

yeah, kind of morbid... but still fun...

[Slept with ghost]

i havent read the manga but i thought FLCL was great

[pomba gira]

Not my thing, but my daughter loves them!  She prefers the japanese style, "because it's cool and different!!!"  =)  She's 13

She started watching Sailor Moon and Pokemon ( before it was popular) in kindergarten!!!

Now she likes  Shaman King,  YuYu Hakusho, and Eniasha (no clue how to spell that!!!) .  She also has a subscription to Shonen Jump .  She's a nut for it.

As for watching it, she'll stay up all night to catch the junk on adult swim.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cool... I started an anime/Yu-Gi-Oh club at my school... had a great response & the kids loved it... found a sponsor, got a bunch ov freebies from Shonen Jump- & then this religious right school board member teamed up w/a parent (whose kid wasn't even in the club) to shut it down. Grrr.

Is your daughter interested in the new shojo magazine that Shonen Jump is starting? As mentioned, I can't stand most shojo but I know a lot of girls like it, so I'm glad to see Viz is thinking about them too! I think manga/anime are great for kids... IMO they tend to be based on a much more positive set of values than traditional American comics.

BTW that spelling is InuYasha... not one ov my favorites but very well done all the same. Adult Swim did a hilarious promo based on the fact that the main characters seem to spend half their time screaming each other's names. "KAGOME!" "INUYASHA!!"

[FarrIL]

InuYasha isnt bad, but there are better Anime series out there. Same applies to FulLMetal Alchemist. OVER-RATED!! All I see on DeviantART is FMA fanart and I want to gag myself with a large spoon. ><!!

As for other animes..... I'm a HUGE nut for Peter Chung's work on Aeon Flux, as well as Reign: the Conqueror. Despite the fact everyone is lean and skinny, I like the series'.

Anime movies..... gimme a good version of Vampire Hunter D anyday, as well as Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis. MM MMM MMMMM..... good movies.

As for Manga, I like Shojo, but there are certain types of stories that I just dont want to bother with. Stereotypical love stories? Uummm...... nah. However, stories like Confidential Confessions are gut-wrenching. I only own volume 5 of that series and it makes me glad that there isnt a definite plot to the story. It's several short stories about serious issues that teens face today, like suicide, sex, teenage prostitution, stalking, abuse, rape, drugs and other things like that. In volume 5, a girl named Mika is gang-raped by three men just MINUTES after saying goodbye to her boyfriend. Suffering from flashbacks, she struggles to move on. When she first confesses to her boyfriend Harumi, he's shocked and thoroughly disappointed. Mika moves away but months later, Harumi is attacked by a Yakuza-type guy and then realizes Mika's pain when she was raped. He follows Mika's dad home from work one day and appears at their doorstep, apologizing for everything....... so Mika and Harumi start over. At one point, Mika is distraught over the lack of physical contact she can show her boyfriend so she tries to kill herself in the exact place where she was raped. Harumi stops her and walks her home, sticking by her every step of the way. So Mika comes to the conclusion that she needs to accept her past in order to move on....... and that story ends with Mika and Harumi holding hands and walking away (( holding hands was worse than a chore for Mika after the rape )).

Another story in Volume 5 is a girl named Nana finding out she's infected with AIDS. Her boyfriend, Jun, had gone uninfected and their friend Migawa is spending a ton of time trying to help Nana, learn as much as possible on the disease, etc. The story is told from mainly Migawa's point of view and it features a ton of scenes where Nana is scrutinized or made example of. Everyone thinks she's disgusting because she has AIDS. But, in the end, the three teens end up dealing with the disease, as Nana continues to remain confident and positive about everything being thrown at her. Disease or not, she doesnt aim to give up.

To me....... this is one of those rare Shojo series that catches a person's attention. It's a very good read and I recommend it to anyone looking for a gut-wrenching story. This wont leave you disappointed.

[gothicmom]

Cool... I started an anime/Yu-Gi-Oh club at my school... had a great response & the kids loved it... found a sponsor, got a bunch ov freebies from Shonen Jump- & then this religious right school board member teamed up w/a parent (whose kid wasn't even in the club) to shut it down. Grrr.

Is your daughter interested in the new shojo magazine that Shonen Jump is starting?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

She mentioned to me today that she wanted to start reading the shojo , because it's the "girls" magazine. I think I will have her buy a few from the store before she get a subscription. She may not care for the love stories, but you never know.

[pomba gira]

InuYasha isnt bad, but there are better Anime series out there.  Same applies to FulLMetal Alchemist.  OVER-RATED!!  All I see on DeviantART is FMA fanart and I want to gag myself with a large spoon.  ><!!

As for other animes..... I'm a HUGE nut for Peter Chung's work on Aeon Flux, as well as Reign: the Conqueror.  Despite the fact everyone is lean and skinny, I like the series'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm a big Peter Chung fan too... I used to watch Aeon Flux on the old Liquid Television show. I think the point of the characters' body type is that they are thin to the point of being grotesque rather than attractive... look at the awkward poses Aeon is often shown in. Ov course that's just my opinion but I really believe Chung is making a statement there.

I love FMA 'cos it has so much substance... it has much more moral complexity than anything that would ever be made for American TV. I like stories where nothing is black & white and there are no easy answers... also where characters grow & acquire wisdom & self-knowledge at great cost. The last few episodes I saw also posed some interesting questions about identity, reality, & the nature of truth. The characters are good, too- I think they're very well-rounded with some good complexity to almost all ov them. The artwork is nothing special, but it's refreshingly kawai-free, too... that teeth-aching cuteness ruins a lot of anime for me. There's a good balance of action/introspection... and the alchemy theme is interesting and fairly well researched... altho I haven't yet heard them mention the Fair White Matron and the Ruddy Man!

[Troy Spiral (13)]

An ex girlfriend of mine and I used to read tons of manga back in the day. Sort of blotted it out of my memory for the most part *thinks hard*

Err... umm... 2001 Nights.... Berserk.... (was forced to learn how to like Sailor Moon, her being a SM fanatic.... eventually , despite the fact that i dont like to admit it i actually started warming up to that saccharine. Hah. Although it was the show more than the books) *memory dies*

MIght have to break down and tiptoe back into "the scene" at some point. Just dont want to re-open any old wounds in the process.

[FarrIL]

The Sailor Moon anime series is way too editted for it's own good. I mean, come on, the Star 'Women' (( Star Maker, Star Healer and Star Fighter )) are MALE out of transformation, and turn into women upon transformation. If that part of the anime made it to the USA, the dubbing company would claim that the Star Women are just masculine women wearing male uniforms..... e.e I hate dubbing for that reason.

Let me recommend the soundtrack to the anime ".hack//SIGN" BEAUTIFUL music!!

Gothicmom: Some shojo series your daughter might like are Angelic Layer, Peach Girl (( love story but not just that )), Paradise Kiss (( love story but also fashion-oriented and very funny )) and Petshop of Horrors (( no love )). Those are the ones I'd suggest she read, because they are just good. =3

[pomba gira]

The Sailor Moon anime series is way too editted for it's own good.  I mean, come on, the Star 'Women' (( Star Maker, Star Healer and Star Fighter )) are MALE out of transformation, and turn into women upon transformation.  If that part of the anime made it to the USA, the dubbing company would claim that the Star Women are just masculine women wearing male uniforms.....  e.e  I hate dubbing for that reason.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hell, I can't even watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime 'cos I hate wholesale editing... & they just butcher that one. The storylines are damn near unrecognizable. The manga is actually pretty exciting & not anything like as cheesy as the anime (in one manga episode Jonouichi/Joey is seriously worked over by thugs with stun guns). Plus the idiotic voice they use for Yami Yugi makes me want to slash the voice actor's throat with a sharpened Millenium Pendant.

[FarrIL]

Hell, I can't even watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime 'cos I hate wholesale editing... & they just butcher that one. The storylines are damn near unrecognizable. The manga is actually pretty exciting & not anything like as cheesy as the anime (in one manga episode Jonouichi/Joey is seriously worked over by thugs with stun guns). Plus the idiotic voice they use for Yami Yugi makes me want to slash the voice actor's throat with a sharpened Millenium Pendant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually I like the american voice actor's voice for Yami.

But that's my opinon.

Anywho, yeah, the anime is horrible compared to the manga. I mean, I remember one episode where Bandit Keith loses to Pegasus and, in his depression, gets drunk in a bar. We see that in the anime, but as to what really happens to Keith after he lost to Joey at Pegasus' mansion....... apparently what happens (( in the managa )) is that Pegasus turns Keith's hand into a gun and makes him shoot himself. In the anime...... he falls through a trap door and into the ocean.

I gotta give Keith's voice actor credit too. He seemed to have portrayed the character well. <<;

But all in all, dubbing sucks. if you want the good stuff, buy the DVD uncensored and just read the subtitles. if you miss something, watch it over again.

[Vivian]

oh gods, im such a friggin Inuyasha nut... *waits for the laughter* I've seen every single episode of the animated series in original japanese, i have all three movies, and i keep up with the manga through shonen sunday. I have one tee-shirt and and a bag, and my myspace account is totally inuyasha.. Im obsessed. they need an inu annomous. (sp?)

*oh and before that it was ranma 1/2 <hilarous>*

[pomba gira]

OK, I'm resurrecting this thread 'cos I actually bought issue #2 of Shojo Beat- AND LOVED IT!! I'm glad I took FarrIL's advice & gave the shojo genre a chance. I actually bought it just to show support for Viz's reaching out to girls, figured I'd just give it to my niece... but 3 of the manga really rock, & the others weren't bad. So far the only one that even resembles a stereotypical romance story is Absolute Boyfriend, but the premise is original enough that I was interested in spite of myself. The articles are cool too, lots of groovy Tokyo street fashion, electronic gear, & interesting cultural stuff. This is starting to sound like a review... but, like I said, I really want this 'zine to succeed... wish I could use it in my classroom =( 'cos all my girls would love it.

Thanks FarrIL for encouraging this old lady to try something different!

... but I STILL can't stand "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi"

Totally unrelated anime question: Does anyone know the title of the song Rem Saverem sings in Trigun? There's a scene in the 2nd to last episode where Meryl & Vash sing part of it... something about a pebble falling on the world, "...all the children of the pebble, join hands & compose a waltz..."

[gothicmom]

Thanks FarrIL for encouraging this old lady to try something different!

... but I STILL can't stand "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi"

I just like to say it!! Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi!!!!! Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi!!!!! Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi!!!!! Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi!!!!! Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi!!!!!

[pomba gira]

yeah... the title is the only thing I like about it... hard to say it w/out giggling! Still, it's a lot cooler to say than to actually sit through. I really wanted to like it, but it's just plain unwatchable.