×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Raika




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Yorozuya



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 332
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:07 am Reply with quote
Well it sounds like fun but I doubt I'll ever get a hold of this manga. Though you have made me feel a little embarrassed as I just realised Naruto is the only ninja manga I've ever read (besides a few weird shojo things).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:21 am Reply with quote
The name "Raika" sounds familiar to me, but it's probably just from passing when reading something about Legend of Kamui. An interesting find, though, Jason. It is always kind of funny to see the term "Master Roshi", though, since Roshi means "master"... So it's like calling that person "Master Master". At least Viz's release of Saint Seiya kept it simple by calling Dohko "Roshi", without the master before it.

Quote:
In a world full of manga where everyone is leveling up like crazy, and ninja characters are splitting into thousands of doppelgangers and summoning 100-foot-tall giant frogs, it's refreshing to read a manga where the characters are just really skilled human beings.


True, that is amazing refreshing, which is funny since it predates Naruto. That should really say something when the older titles are starting to feel "new" and "different" enough to be fresh once again.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Psycho_Despair



Joined: 17 Nov 2009
Posts: 376
Location: East of Eden
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:08 pm Reply with quote
I just find it interesting that Raika takes place before Japan was named Japan, which very refreshing because now a days we just get regurgitated shows, and manga of the Unification of Japan and the Three Kingdoms (Chinese History, though).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:44 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
and important personages are buried along with their sacrificed slaves.

Yeah, this shows up in Tezuka's Phoenix, too. The Chinese account of Himiko's death says this, as does the Nihon Shoki for other emperors, and yet there is zero archeological evidence for human sacrifice at burials in Japan (whereas there is in very early China). There have probably been papers written on this, but it's always both bothered and intrigued me. The Nihon Shoki can be explained by how the whole book attempts to mimic Chinese history, but Himiko's is much more interesting. Was Himiko's sacrifices an isolated, extreme incident? Was it Chinese propaganda, since by then it was starting to disappear in China? Was it a simple Chinese misunderstanding of the purpose of the haniwa placed at burial mounds?

Sorry, that got rambling. This sounds like a fascinating manga, and I love anything that delves into unusual parts of Japanese history (and prehistory). Usually you just get events during the Gempei war, the Sengoku era, a little bit in the Tokugawa, and then the Bakumatsu. There's a whole lot more to Japanese history than just that.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Apollo-kun



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1213
Location: City 7, Macross 7
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:37 pm Reply with quote
O_O I owned a used copy of this when I was like ten, from a used book store in the redneck town I used to live in. Think my friend stole it though, along with my good deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and some of my other manga volumes that mysteriously turned up at his house later. Point being, I'm happy to know I wasn't the only person to hear about this entertaining work. ^^

Oh yeah, needless to say, once I moved that guy wasn't my friend anymore xD
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Youkai Warrior



Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 505
Location: Sarayashiki
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:11 pm Reply with quote
Great article as always, Jason. I've never heard of Raika, but it sounds good. Definitely different from much of the manga today, especially ninja-related manga.

@ Apollo-kun
Quote:
O_O I owned a used copy of this when I was like ten, from a used book store in the redneck town I used to live in. Think my friend stole it though, along with my good deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and some of my other manga volumes that mysteriously turned up at his house later. Point being, I'm happy to know I wasn't the only person to hear about this entertaining work. ^^

Oh yeah, needless to say, once I moved that guy wasn't my friend anymore xD


Well I would hope not! Friends shouldn't steal from eachother. Did you get your stuff back?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MangaNeko



Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 137
PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:01 pm Reply with quote
I loved this series. I still have my issues. I think Sun Comics did manage to put out a Trade paperback that collected like issue 1 - 8
of Raika. I found the other Sun Comics title about the high school James Bond interesting, cause of the soundtrack the translator put in the comics different scenes. In hindsight I am sure the mangaka used jpop songs, but recognizing the various English tunes chosen was fun.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
belvadeer





PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:21 am Reply with quote
A shame any and all Narutards will just look at this manga and probably think, "God how lame is that? They're not doing any kind of cool ninjitsu at all!". Well take that Naruto, this is where real ninja were born!

Although the frog summoning thing seems to be equated to early ninja works too. Not giant ones of course, but utilizing them to some degree.
Back to top
Gyt Kaliba



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 712
Location: Arkansas
PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:27 pm Reply with quote
A bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask - is there like an archive of all the manga that have been reviewed thus far? I'd like to flip through and read on all the stuff I've also seen and read or heard about, but I can't locate a backlog thing like there is for other articles.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Treetastic



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 164
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:05 pm Reply with quote
Interesting! Off the top of my head, I can't think of any manga that take place in the 200s. Apparently this was released in French, though I don't know if it was complete-- five volumes?

Gyt Kaliba wrote:
A bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask - is there like an archive of all the manga that have been reviewed thus far? I'd like to flip through and read on all the stuff I've also seen and read or heard about, but I can't locate a backlog thing like there is for other articles.

Here you go. (It's under "views", for future reference.)
animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Gyt Kaliba



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 712
Location: Arkansas
PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Thanks! Now I can peruse the older entries at me leisure. Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Apollo-kun



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1213
Location: City 7, Macross 7
PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:52 pm Reply with quote
Youkai Warrior wrote:
Great article as always, Jason. I've never heard of Raika, but it sounds good. Definitely different from much of the manga today, especially ninja-related manga.

@ Apollo-kun
Quote:
O_O I owned a used copy of this when I was like ten, from a used book store in the redneck town I used to live in. Think my friend stole it though, along with my good deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and some of my other manga volumes that mysteriously turned up at his house later. Point being, I'm happy to know I wasn't the only person to hear about this entertaining work. ^^

Oh yeah, needless to say, once I moved that guy wasn't my friend anymore xD


Well I would hope not! Friends shouldn't steal from eachother. Did you get your stuff back?
Some of it, but alas, my Yu-Gi-Oh cards and a few volumes of manga were never recovered before my move back to Atlanta. So glad I make better choices with friends now... >.>
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MangaNeko



Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 137
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:11 am Reply with quote
Treetastic wrote:
Interesting! Off the top of my head, I can't think of any manga that take place in the 200s. Apparently this was released in French, though I don't know if it was complete-- five volumes?


My understanding from the artist's website is there are 11 volumes to the series, which may make the French version incomplete.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:58 pm Reply with quote
belvadeer wrote:
A shame any and all Narutards will just look at this manga and probably think, "God how lame is that? They're not doing any kind of cool ninjitsu at all!". Well take that Naruto, this is where real ninja were born!

Although the frog summoning thing seems to be equated to early ninja works too. Not giant ones of course, but utilizing them to some degree.


Oh please. Only an idiot will go around assuming any and all people who read and like Naruto are like that. Quit trying to categorize a group of fans as one thing because blanket assumptions are pointless and just show how developed your thought process is. I've been reading Naruto from the get-go and it is far from my first manga, far from my first ninja oriented manga, and I still to this day try and enjoy tons of other manga outside of Naruto - a number of which actually involve ninja.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail My Anime My Manga
belvadeer





PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:23 am Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:
Oh please. Only an idiot will go around assuming any and all people who read and like Naruto are like that. Quit trying to categorize a group of fans as one thing because blanket assumptions are pointless and just show how developed your thought process is. I've been reading Naruto from the get-go and it is far from my first manga, far from my first ninja oriented manga, and I still to this day try and enjoy tons of other manga outside of Naruto - a number of which actually involve ninja.


This coming from someone who used the word Narutard on another topic. Quit trying to lecture me, hypocrite.
Back to top
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group