What Manga are you reading?

[CinniScrib]

Koe no Katachi 62
2 YEARS LATER SPOILER: Highlight text to read: OMogsh Pedro is back! Nice that he's not a deadbeat dad for Maria anymore (Well he did disappear for a while but at least he's back). AND SHOYA IS GOING TO BE AN UNCLE A SECOND TIME AROUND! Lol Sahara bursting Nao's lie about the ring hahah... UUUGH HE TOOK HER HAND IN THE END. BUT THEY HAVEN'T ACTUALLY SAID HOW THEY FEEL TO ONE ANOTHER OUTLOUD. HNNG.
IT'S DONE. IT'S OVER. WAAAH! D'8

BUT! I'm so freaking excited they're working on an anime adaption! I seriously hope they do this beautiful manga justice in the animated version.

[CinniScrib]

Kuroshitsuji Chapter 99
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: YEAH SULLIVAN! So happy she found her resolve!

Bleach Chapter 606
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Just call this the fight between bearded men OMOGSH! YORUICHI HAS A YOUNGER SIBLING!?

[the_wolfs_howl]

Liar Game chapters 92-107

The Revival Round ended spectacularly, as I knew it would. Such a simple solution, but ingenious! And now the 4th round is underway, and it's shaping up to be even more complicated than anything that's gone before. It's nice to see Fukunaga again, and other familiar faces, but now there's two villains?! *dies* If the ante gets upped any more, I'm not sure I can take the suspense!

[Cadence]

Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed! I’ll read volumes 4 and 5. I’m glad to give it a second chance now that I have a clear reading goal. If it hasn’t caught me by then, it’s probably just not my style. Thanks again for the detailed post – I appreciate it.

Sure, anytime! Let me know what you think of the manga - I am always happy to hear a different perspective, especially since there are so very few English-speakers who read this manga!

[CinniScrib]

Magi - Labyrinth of Magic Chapter 247 Page 2
So wanting to make a LOTR joke SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ... YOU. SHALL NOT. PASS! Man she is psycho, though we learned that from the past/true version of herself before she came to this world.

[CinniScrib]

Fairy Tail Chapter 410

[CinniScrib]

Nanatsu no Taizai Chapter 105
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: POOR KING! I seriously get where the fairies are coming from but get the details of both sides 8/ BUT HELEBRAM BEING IN THE HELMET! But Hawk has grown to normal size again! (HOW? WHY?)

[MangaRocks!]

Y'know, I really need to get (back?) into the habit of posting about my reading more often, LOL...


Akagami no Shirayuki-hime chapter 60: LOL, Shirayuki totally owned the new guy. (Also: Obi being Obi. )


Hibi Chouchou chapter 51: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: LOL!! (Vending-machine tea for a Birthday present... ) Wow at the tournament stuff, though...


Orange chapters 15-16: AHHH YES~ <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The first of these two chapters in particular was extremely heartwarming. <3 (And ah, so that's why Kakeru had fallen during the race in the original timeline.) As for the second chapter: LOL at all the teasing about rewards (especially poor Hagita). That said, it was a bit obvious (and possibly a tad cliché), but I have to admit that I still loved the part when Kakeru's soul just sort-of opened up there and took their words to heart during his lap of the race (and then him winning, of course ). And I also have to say that him kissing her on the cheek like that (instead of what the other characters {and the manga's readers} were probably thinking, LOL! ) was just so in-character for him that it was actually perfect. <3


Pandora Hearts chapter 99: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ah, I had been wondering for a minute there, LOL-- so Jack wasn't looking at them after all (as I really should have expected ). Speaking of, though, wow-- his encounter with Glen there was just insanity in its purest form (and the fact that, to some extent, Jack actually *knew* that only made it even sadder). And oh man, Leo's moment of growth was absolutely beautiful. <3


Spirit Circle chapter 29: Oh wow-- I was not expecting SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that ending at all. What an arc! Also, I'm really curious as to why Rune SPOILER: Highlight text to read: apparently didn't want him to see the next life, LOL... Really looking forward to the next chapter!


Taiyou no Ie chapters 47-48: Ah, thank goodness. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Mao and Sugimoto had a good conversation, and Mao and her mom had a (surprisingly) good one, as well-- Mao made the right decision, and it actually went over better than I expected, too. (Even her dad warmed up a little! ) And Sugimoto (also-thankfully) wasted no time in setting things right with Hiro in regards to the novel. (LOL though, the timing on those two distractions... ) And oh man, the reunion between Hiro and Mao was so adorable~ <3 (And BWAHAHA, of course he fell asleep right when he was about to say something important... But it was justifiable, obviously, and anyway I'm sure she'll hear the rest of that sentence soon. <3 )


And Zetsuen no Tempest chapter 33: LOL. The first part of this chapter was surprisingly silly (but not necessarily in a bad way). That said, when it got back to the serious stuff in the later part of the chapter it was a lot more interesting. For example, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Samon and Hayakawa talking so calmly about perhaps only half of the population of Earth surviving was quite something. And ahhh, of course! The barrel! Hakaze's plan to use it to find out what really happened to Aika makes perfect sense. (Why didn't I think of that? ) Can't wait to see where this goes!

[the_wolfs_howl]

Silver Spoon chapter 107

Just hearing the audience comment on how beautiful the horses look made me take a closer look at them, and man. The amount of research Arakawa-san must have done to draw horses like that!

Liar Game chapters 108-116

Never knew musical chairs could be so tense and exciting!

[artisticDreamer]

Liar Game chapters 108-116

Never knew musical chairs could be so tense and exciting!

LIAR GAME YES. I watched the Korean Drama, and I want to read the manga, but I can't buy it in English. *Cries* It really needs to be licensed.
But to stay on topic, I'm reading... MANGA SHAKESPEARE!

[CinniScrib]

Silver Spoon 108

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun 55-58
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Omogsh Nozaki and Seo. Mikorin is the best with helping Sakura out.

Ao no Exorcist 63
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: At least we know Tsukiko is safe but that's still hard to find out she's been safe all this time BUT SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER HER SISTER! I should have figured as much. She was rather young, she probably can't remember what happened.

[CinniScrib]

Bleach ch 608

[the_wolfs_howl]

Liar Game chapters 117-119

I am constantly amazed at how well the mangaka thought everything out ._.

[Kaori]

Katsute Kami Datta Kemono tachi e (To the beasts who once were gods) ch. 1-4: This is a shonen that exists for the sake of having cool-looking monsters plus some violence and a little fanservice. Also:

Guns have recoil.
Guns run out of bullets.

One can't always count on these things in manga, so that was nice to see. Anyways, it is a fun read, but I'm not expecting anything deep from it.

Reimei no Arcana ch. 1-53 (complete): O.O

The plot consists mostly of a whole lot of really horrible things happening, particularly to Loki. The plot twist at the end was a surprise to me. ( SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I will never understand the Japanese fascination with romantic attraction between siblings, but the plot twist does make one horrified by how awful Loki's lot in life was.)

Neither the romance nor the politics and warfare were done extremely well. I found the main relationship too facile and hard to believe. The final showdown of the war between the two main countries was glossed over much too quickly and easily, so that was also too facile.

However, although I didn't think the romance or politics were done very well, the manga does handle fairly well the female lead’s arcana ability; that she was not able to just magically fix things because of it added a bit of complexity to the story. So with the arcana and the plot twist being fairly well-handled, the manga was pretty decent, but I wouldn’t call it excellent.

Joou no Hana ch. 5-6 has a TON of things going on, politically and in the characters' personal lives. We see some political machinations going on that were not previously revealed. This is one shojo manga that means serious business, so read it if you want to see a shojo that tackles some weighty issues of politics and revenge.

Chapter 6 reveals Seitetsu's whole backstory, which a little too closely Ni no Hime no Monogatari, I think: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the princess and her retainer falling in love (the age difference is opposite, though; in this one the retainer is younger, not older). So it is like a what-if scenario of what things would be like if the princess married the prince instead of marrying her retainer.

Himitsukichi is a short story collection. It has one rather problematic story about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a tenth-grade girl who falls in love with a sixth-grade boy, thinking he's a college student, and then continues to date him after finding out his true age. I see the point the author is trying to make about "age doesn't matter if you love each other," and while that can be true with a 26-year-old and a 30-year-old, tenth grade and sixth grade are not the ages at which that kind of age difference is appropriate, regardless of whether the girl or the boy is older.

Other than that one, actually all of the other stories ranged from "pretty good" to "very good." There was one that made some really excellent points about not judging people by their appearances and how it is bad both for those who are judged negatively because they are plain-looking and those who are fawned over for having a pretty face while everything else about them as a person is overlooked. The story about a son who is always annoyed with his father (who is a really lame comedian) was also a well-told moral story. So I would recommend all of the stories in this collection except the first one.

Love so Life ch. 1-89: This is one of those shojo manga where the two leads cooperate to raise some kids that aren't actually their children but related in some other way (younger siblings, or in this case a nephew and niece). Culturally, I would say that Nakamura-san is the ideal Japanese woman (specifically the ideal Japanese housewife, though she isn't married yet) and Matsunaga-san is the ideal Japanese man, and they behave with impeccable propriety and manners towards each other (e.g. calling each other by surname-san and their exchanges of gifts on important occasions). One pretty much cannot find fault with either one of them. Besides that, there were various other unrealistic things, like the way that the twins are consistently drawn as being much too small for their age (they're often drawn about the size of newborn babies, although they are 2-3). I'm also highly suspicious about Nakamura-san's miraculous ability to get the twins to cooperate with her (despite the frequent altercations that are there to show that child-rearing is not all fun and games, overall it seems too easy) and her maturity level (I've met some orphanage kids, and I have doubts about whether someone raised in one would be so mature and free of psychological issues). But if anyone wants to know what the Japanese consider to be an ideal person and ideal behavior, this would be a good manga to read, because both of the leads are absolute paragons.

BTW, at ch. 89 I've now read a bit past where the English translation currently is, so for anyone who is reading this manga and has only read up to ch. 84, there is something good coming up soon.

Lovely Complex (complete): This manga was good at making young people act like young, sometimes frivolous, sometimes silly, young people. Reading it, I felt that the way the characters responded and did things was very young—e.g. the extreme embarrassment over certain things (saying “I like you”) and so on.

Overall it was very funny and I liked it a lot, although generally speaking I would rather read a story about characters who are older and more mature, or at least older and facing more adult concerns in their life (e.g. paying bills, work). Speaking of which . . .

Dame na Watashi ni Koi Shite Kudasai (ch. 1-9), which is by the same mangaka as Lovely Complex, is exactly that. Really enjoy this mangaka's humor.

[CinniScrib]

Nanatsu no Taizai 106
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: It's over 3000!!!!! Oh man had to throw in a power scanner.

Shingeki no Kyojin Chapter 64
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Go Sasha!! SHINE! But seriously Levi and Mikasa are my dream team of epicness. BUT HANGE!

Fairy Tail 412

[CinniScrib]

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari 10
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm so glad Firo is all grown up! She's so adorable! BWAHHA I LOVE HOW SHE JUST KICKED THAT IGNORANT PRIDEFUL HERO! And then she turned into a girl out of desperation to be together with Naofumi!

[the_wolfs_howl]

Liar Game chapters 120-122

Lol, I was wondering if they would finish this entire round in one day or what. It's impossible to tell how much time is passing, but it really helps the suspension of disbelief to have a break like this.

[CinniScrib]

Bleach 609

[artisticDreamer]

I just started reading the first Tsubasa omnibus. <3

[MangaRocks!]

Gin no Saji, a.k.a. Silver Spoon, chapters 106-108: So good. <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: BWAHAHA, that guy from the other team... the way they all totally owned him in return for his harassment was hilariously awesome. And then Hachiken during the competition finals... well, he did learn some things, at least. <3 (Also, LOL at his and the horse's twin reactions to Mikage in glasses, and Komaba's reaction to receiving the notification that they got in. )


Hibi Chouchou chapter 52: Well, for a series that is pretty much all-sweetness all-the-time, that was actually kinda depressing... I'm sure it'll work out quickly, though.


Isshuukan Friends., a.k.a. One Week Friends, chapters 23-24: AHHH SO ADORABLE~ <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: They didn't adapt this Autumn trip in the anime (although they thankfully did adapt the part here where Shougo apologizes to Saki, just in a different setting <3 (although it might have actually been even sweeter here-- not recalling ATM if all of that dialogue was in the anime or not. Regardless: <3 <3 <3 )


Karneval chapter 85: HAAAAA, I knew it. This mangaka's sense of humor... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I *knew* I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up with that apparent shipping moment... At least Hirato got both a scolding and a head-knock for his trick, though, LOL (and from Akari, no less).


Spirit Circle chapter 30: *Loved* the uplifting reversal of the characters' despair with the reveal of the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: parallel universes (I knew that time-travel research would be brought up again! ). <3 And BWAHAHA, the end of this chapter was priceless!!


A Bride's Story volume 6: Amir was awesome. Azel was awesome. This volume was awesome.


Kimi ni Todoke volume 20: The cuteness meter practically exploded, this volume was so adorable. <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Also, I believe I've mentioned this before, but I really like how insightful Pin is when it comes to helping the students.

Natsume's Book Of Friends volume 17: Oh man, I absolutely *loved* the first story in this volume! <3 <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: For once, a youkai/human romance that actually has a (somewhat) happy ending (...or, well, it will be for a number of years, at least)?! YES!! <3 Then there was a cute sort-of interlude chapter, and then a nice little treat with some backstory on Natori. (Oh, and did I mention that I loved this volume? )


And Vampire Knight volume 19 (end) + the Vampire Knight: Tokubetsu-hen special chapter (separate from the last volume since it was published afterwards): ...Well, to my surprise, I actually have somewhat mixed feelings on this. As I've said multiple times now, this series was great until around volume 12/13, at which point the pacing ground to a screeching halt, the plot started to meander around rather strangely, and pretty much everything about the series just generally began to go steeply downhill. Combining all of that with some things I'd heard about the ending made me expect to have a feeling of "good riddance" once I got the finale + special chapter over with; however, I actually really didn't. Story-wise, it was Kaname's own bad decisions (made by him both consciously and subconsciously) that led to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that end for him. Indeed, all three main characters made stupid decisions, particularly during that mess of this series' second half (and they were really just pretty darn selfish overall, except for Zero in the special chapter); and yet, the ending actually wasn't as bad as I'd feared. IDK; like I said, mixed feelings.

[artisticDreamer]

Gate 7 vol. 2- I wish the main character would stop overreacting to everything. He should be used to that sort of stuff by now.

[CinniScrib]

Pinocchio 78.1-79 (END, 79 is Author's afterword)
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: A three year time skip BUT I WILL SURVIVE! I'm so happy that Gaon remembered! The marriage proposal and Haram's sensible denial haha BUT THEY WILL BE WED IN THE FUTURE. BUT IN MARCH 6 THREE SIDE STORIES WILL BE RELEASED!

Magi - Labyrinth of Magic Chapter 249-250

Fairy Tail Zero 6

Nanatsu no Taizai Chapter 107

Magi - Sinbad no Bouken 42-43.5

[the_wolfs_howl]

Liar Game chapters 123-125

Aaaand back to musical chairs

[CinniScrib]

Bleach 610
.... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: So basically he's god modding this whole story. He's unbeatable and has the ultimate trump card which can out do anything people throw at him... that's so lame, it's unoriginal just by being "undefeatable". It reminds me when little kids play and one "attacks" the other but the kid goes "no, you missed because I dodged and hit you on the head and now you're bleeding and I'm fine." Not to mention Yhwach basically has slot machine eyes now with various pupils and irises.

[WorldsTraveler]

Sure, anytime! Let me know what you think of the manga - I am always happy to hear a different perspective, especially since there are so very few English-speakers who read this manga!

Now that I’ve reached Amatsuki vol. 6, I think I can give a pretty good report.

Thank you for encouraging me to keep reading. The fox arc resolution was great and I would’ve been sad if I had missed it. I honestly didn’t expect it to be that meaningful! Most especially, I loved the way the characters approached the situation. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Each wanted to achieve a black and white conviction from their own viewpoint in order to break the situation down to a point where they could understand and take action to solve it. And then Bonten starts opening up their view, hazing the black and white into grey. And mostly, I love the utter simplicity of Toki; he lets himself get confused for a while, bids his time while trying to grasp the situation, and then finally acts out of his personal convictions and feelings – not based on who he believes is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. I smiled when he pulled out the fox – it was such a simple gesture, but so sensible.

This is exactly what I expect out of Comic Zero Sum and why I like their manga so much. The stories have an extra level of sophistication to them, in that the levels go deeper than you’re seeing, and the authors steadily reveal the layers one at a time for the reader as the pace of each story dictates. I adore this kind of storytelling.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about why Amatsuki might not be working for me. I like the philosophy scattered here and there, the depth the series hints at, the blend of humor and action, the folklore, the sci-fi flavor… so what’s missing? I usually don’t have a problem with slow-moving plots, so that’s not it either.

In order to enjoy any story, but especially a slow one, I must bond to the characters. I need to relate to them in some fashion, enjoy being with them, miss them when they leave the page, and cheer when they come back. But I haven’t ‘clicked’ with the cast of Amatsuki. I mean, I’m curious about them and I want to learn more about them, but I feel like the manga’s meandering is holding me at arm’s length. So I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘I don’t like this story’ but rather ‘I personally have no driving force keeping me reading’.

It’s also a hindrance that the only translation of the manga I’ve been able to find is… rife with a lot more profanity than I feel comfortable reading.

I have no doubt that the plot is going in amazing directions. It is a beautiful manga and the mangaka is certainly talented. I wish I was enjoying the ride as much as the author intended. But I have to accept that not every manga is a cup of tea I want to curl up with every day. Some I just want to taste and move on. This is one of those.

So, for those reasons, I’m signing off in the middle of volume 6. It is with some regret, but I am glad I gave it a chance.

[Wolfsong]

I've almost finished Sakura Hime: The Legend of Sakura. Its been a really touching story, and I love the characters so much...

Vermonia has also been a good read, and I think they're finally wrapping up. I'm a little sad, this was my first actual manga, even as I eagerly await the end.

I just started reading Pandora Hearts. Quite interesting, so far. I get the feeling this will be one strange but awesome story.

[PLCDreamcatcher14]

I just started reading Pandora Hearts. Quite interesting, so far. I get the feeling this will be one strange but awesome story.

Believe me. It is.

[CinniScrib]

Bleach 611
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Wow Squad Zero really is... zero. what good is the ultimate squad to be wiped out in one go?

[CinniScrib]

Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun 58-59

[MangaRocks!]

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun chapters 1-59 (so far): Well, I had watched the anime first, and I have to say, it was an absolutely *perfect* adaptation of what it covered (in fact, I'd actually even say that the anime improved upon what it covered, with the voice acting/timing/etc.-- and as I'm sure you're all aware by now, LOL, that is *not* something I say very often at all, and is *very* high praise!). And, of course, the stuff the anime *didn't* cover is just as hilariously awesome -- for example, the antics of Nozaki's lazy-to-the-extreme little brother Mayu are hysterical , and there's even more Kashima x Hori and Seo x Waka hilarity/awesomeness, too. Also, one other neat little detail shown in the manga is that, as I had thought, it really was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Chiyo who inspired the *look* of Nozaki's manga heroine (kinda subconsciously though, since he was basically sleepwalking at that point, LOL; but still... <3 ) So, yeah, I loved the anime and I'm loving the manga just as much. <3



Hibi Chouchou chapters 53-54: The former chapter was basically just buildup to the latter one, but it was worth it. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The bit when they were running away from everyone to the Ferris wheel was both adorable and LOL; and wow, Suiren actually telling Kawasumi straight out that she wants to kiss him was great progress on her part. Putting the cliffhanger there was just plain evil though, LOL.



Kamisama Hajimemashita, a.k.a. Kamisama Kiss, chapters 120-122: Finally, Nanami's powers come into play once more! Oh man, though, that reveal SPOILER: Highlight text to read: about what the 'furball' is now (multiple bodies, etc.)... and crap, I knew there had to be more of a consequence to Kirihito (super-creepily) stealing her life force than just some emotional trauma... Not sure how that's going to work out ATM (though I have a few thoughts), but we'll see. Also: Nice save at the end there by an unexpected character!



Karneval chapter 86: And back to the plot! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Tokitatsu is sneaky , Karoku-lookalike-guy is creepy , and guy-who-may-or-may-not-be-Yotaka is interesting...



Orange chapter 17: More cute banter in the beginning, as usual. <3 Also, it was nice to get to see a bit of their original-future-selves' thoughts again. (And man, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: new-timeline-Suwa's self-sacrifice is really something.) Holy crap, though, the way this chapter ended... that last page was a killer. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Talk about ominous...



Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii chapters 25-26: Ah. Well, at least this 'twist' was handled better than I expected, in that it's explained so well that it's understandable. Also, Falaha (and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the emperor, too, LOL!) was awesome. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Crap, though, Livi just got the message...



Spirit Circle chapter 31: Heh, that pretty much went as expected. (But it was still cute. <3 ) And that bit with Rune and Fuuta in the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: dreamscape was amazing. (Also, I didn't realize until now SPOILER: Highlight text to read: just how close to the end this series probably is, relatively speaking. Of course, that's only counting the remaining 'viewings' of his past lives, though; afterwards, there's still going to have to be the final resolution between those two + apparently trying to both figure out and then counter whatever Fortuna is/was planning...



Zetsuen no Tempest chapters 34-35: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The details of the plan and all the possible outcomes were interesting. (Also, the bit when Mahiro was teasing Yoshino about Hakaze still getting her own way was LOL. <3 And Samon actually cracking a joke, ROTFL!) Have to say, though, I was *not* expecting Hakaze's decision to be willing to kill Aika herself if necessary-- and when it was revealed that the boys had thought of that possibility, too... yeah, wow. And holy crap, that 'impossible' trunk of the tree... Can't wait for the next chapter!



Dengeki Daisy volume 14: Holy crap, that was some heavy backstory there with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Akira. I was not expecting what was revealed, but it definitely made a lot of sense. (Also, wow on what SPOILER: Highlight text to read: M's Last Testament *actually* was... ) And Teru and Kurosaki's discussions about it were great, too. (Oh my gosh, though, I totally LOL'd when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: she called Antler "scrub brush" {and he reacted}! ) And, of course, one cannot comment on this volume without mentioning SPOILER: Highlight text to read: THAT ALL-DAY BIRTHDAY DATE. Aaagh, that was just too darn adorable!! <3 And finally, they're 'officially' together!! So, yeah, I pretty much adored this. <3



And Otomen vol.'s 17-18 (end): It had taken so long for my library to get these that I had nearly forgotten just how incredibly adorable Asuka was. <3 Anyway, as for what happens in these final two vol.'s: Well, his friends' intervention was the best. <3 I do have to note that the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: amnesia bit afterwards was a bit too cliché , and his resolution with his mother (and her issues) was too easy (and the bit with his dad at the end was a little... weird, as well ), but the very end was certainly cute. So, yeah, it wasn't a *great* series in the end, but it was a good one.