Forum - View topicWhat are you reading right now? Why?
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jacheongbi777
 Posts: 1 |
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Make Out Bars volumes 1-4 by J. Zaraiyah
So bizarrely outrageous, you can't stop reading-exactly like the depiction of Kakashi with Make Out glued to his hand in Naruto. As pervy as the Perry Sage could possibly get without being unsuitable for minors, although people may argue the content dances over the line between G-rated and adult-which makes it controversial. Volume five has been said to be released back in January, and it is still not out yet. I'm on at least my tenth time re-reading them, except when my friends happen to "borrow" a volume and forget to mention it. One of those books where it is better to let people experience themselves than try to describe it and ruin it for everyone by accidentally saying too much. |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4830 |
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As I was perusing Barnes and Noble last week, many new titles caught my eye. Being the cheapskate that I am (all right, truthfully I am saving up for anime cons this summer AND I'm running out of shelf space for manga as it is) I took pictures of the covers of the ones that intrigued me, saying "okay, I'll check these out online to see if they're
worth buying." One of these titles was a rather...unorthodox shoujo romance called "Love and Heart". The boy on the cover was hot so I checked it out. Yes, that is all you need to get me to pick up the book. Is the art pretty and/or is there a hot guy on the cover? 
Wow damn. I can't put this series down. Volume 01 was a little iffy but it got really good, REALLY fast. It is a story of a college girl and her yandere roomate/boyfriend. People have likely seen me complain on here: "I don't like yandere love interests". Indeed, I do not. But then I realized every time I hate a yandere character...it's usually because they are a side annoyance trying to ruin my main ship. I never actually read a story from the yandere's POV. Except for maybe Future Diary...and yeah that whole manga is trash lol. There was nothing really great about that one. "Love and Heart" is a horse of a different color though.... spoiler[This author really knows how to make a twisted yandere boyfriend really likable. See, Haruma-kun used to be Yoh-chan's childhood friend (lol what is it with yandere and childhood friend tropes!?) anyway, we know they used to be pretty close, we know that Yoh-chan cannot remember this boy for some reason, and we know Haruma's mother died, presumably by hanging herself when the children were seven years old and the two were forced to separate.] spoiler[Yoh can't remember him, huh? Uh-huh, I've seen this song and dance before. The situation when a character is SO traumatized that she blocks it out of her memory. This is actually a pretty realistic response to trauma, so I'm okay with it. It actually does happen to real people. Hell, I think it's happened to me. When I was hospitalized as a teenager, I kept a log and wrote what occured every day. But when I looked at the notebook not that long ago, it was like I was reading someone else's words. Not mine. What a surreal feeling lol anyway back to the story...] spoiler[After a long separation, Haruma-kun manages to make his way back to Yoh...and he's now roomates with her. Through a series of events he gets her to fall for him all over again. He wears a Mr. Perfect mask but behind it, he is manipulative as hell...and he's definitely a stalker. But here's the thing: Haruma doesn't actually do anything that bad...at least not for me that would cross a personal line. When he DOES do something though, it's normally against really terrible people who were making Yoh's life...and others a living hell. Whether it's exposing Yoh's ex for cheating on her, an abusive student council president, or a sinister fake friend who manages to steal every single guy Yoh had her sights on in middle school, Haruma hunts and stalks them all down and gets the SWEETEST revenge you can imagine. He doesn't actually HURT them, no; just makes them go through public humilation and they deserve no better...and he does this with an unwavering, shit-eating smirk on his pretty face. I cannot help but LOVE Haruma for this in that "You Magnificent Bastard" kind of way. Who doesn't love to see rotten people with rotten personalities get their just desserts? I sure as hell do! "Pretty boy makes everyone who upsets his girl pay for it through trickery, blackmail, and betrayal?"] OH YEAH. SIGN ME UP FOR THAT. HAHAHAHA. This raises an interesting question that I've never actually thought of before: "Is it okay to stalk and socially destroy people when they hurt someone you love?" Perhaps not....BUT IT SURE IS FUN TO WATCH LOL. spoiler[Now Yoh has no idea about any of this...though she has a male best friend Touya who (of course) has only now figured out he loves her 'like that' and a female friend who sees through everything and wants to expose Haruma's dark side. But I'm thinking...."...uh why; those people totally deserved what he did to them, Yoh wants him, and while his obsession with Yoh is probably not healthy, he's never actually done anything to hurt her? Can't you just leave them alone?" I think she should. She's got a crush on Touya anyway...who is a perfectly nice guy, sulking in the corner, yet taking his loss like a man instead of trying to get his way. In case things go south for Haruma, I would be okay with Yoh ending up with Touya. It's rare to find a manga that makes me multi-ship. I can count them on my fingers. I'm shipping YohxHaruma pretty hard though. They are damn cute, twistedness aside.] spoiler[My biggest fear when checking out this manga (because I could sense the more mature, dark tones of the story just from looking at the covers was "Is this...gonna be rapey?" THE RESOUNDING ANSWER IS NO. That's kinda unbelievable but I welcome it. IT IS SO REFRESHING. For instance, Yoh gets sorta kidnapped by a jerkwad and he drives out to the middle of nowhere. Of course I'm thinking "Oh....shit I so don't like where this is going; is he gonna try to violate her?" No. He tricks her to get out of the car and just leaves her there with a dying cell phone. Which is an asshole thing to do, yes...but it's nowhere near out of my comfort zone. Praise Chise Kaido. PRAISE HER BRILLIANT MIND. Speaking of rape, yandere are known for their sexual predatory nature...but Haruma is the most cool-headed, chaste stalker I've ever seen, tbh. There is a very uncomfortable scene where it looks like he's taking off Yoh's wet clothes while she is sleeping....and it turns how to be a fantasy in his head, with him comically remarking "No way in hell could I do that; she'd hate me for it." Good. Good boy, Haruma. More points for you. You are not completely delusional and selfish like other yandere. Eat $hit, Yuuno.] 'Love and Heart' has mysterious, eerie mystery feel to it...when it's not being comical. Every single character you're supposed to like is likable, the ones you supposed to hate, are people you loooove to hate as well. I pretty much FLEW through volumes 1-4 and I really can't wait to read volume five. |
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J0Y-B0Y
 Posts: 1 |
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So I was reading Shonan Junai Gumi 
And I must say its quite a "must read content", fascinated by GTO anime series it was most likely inevitable for me to not to dive further deep into the story, I stumbled upon the manga one day last year and it turned out to be a total blast ngl, The most amazing thing about the story was, It's way too much relatable in my case, The phase when you jump into your youth where everyday seems like a crazy ride and seeking for love in whatever corner of the world possible, I was totally into the story after a few reads With Eikichi's school life being started from The Bad Company, I read almost half of Young GTO, When someone told me about the depth of the stories n lessons in Manga franchise, I thank myself for believing in that nice pal, GTO being able to change your mindset, Shonan Junai Gumi is much more about the story on how it turned out to be the GTO we know about,
These topics and events give rise to the intellect of Eikichi and enentually gifting us the Greatest Teacher of JAPAN. Although in GTO anime the role of Danma Ryuji was way too limited and Anime only fans can't understand that Ryuji is one of the best supporting characters ever written, unless they get their hands on the manga, therefore I suggest to our GTO anime only fans, you must read Shonan Junai Gumi while you can, life's too short and you never know what happens next. 
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HoneyAmanda
Posts: 11 |
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It's usually not any one thingBut for example - One Punch Man.
And of course it's cool |
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takobocchi
 Posts: 2 |
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I am currently reading "Sousou no Frieren."
I plan to watch the anime later, but I have little hope for it. I really like how the manga shows the almost eternal life of elves. It is almost impossible for elves to make friends or romantic relationships, because the other races live quite a bit. In some places, the manga is permeated with such longing and despondency that I want to cry. It is especially sad when they show frames with the last Frieren's group, and then the next ones in the same place, but with a new one. I like that manga can show both serious moments and funny simple ones. For example, the case of corpses or situations where the characters just walk around the city, eating delicious food and collecting magical things. I think everyone should read this manga and maybe it can influence their worldview, making them appreciate every second of their lives more. |
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Itachi__Uchiha
 Posts: 5 Location: United States |
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I'm currently reading An infinite wizard, I think it's a beautiful and unique manhwa, if you know a similar one, please tell me
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FishLion
 Crazy Fangirl Posts: 861 |
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@mingus I loved Berserk so much, the way the art portrays the emotional depth of it blows me away.
I started reading Kingdom of Quartz today. It has characters that are earnest and loving going up against horrifying monstrosities. I always love these sorts of stories because putting adorable, idealistic characters against eldritch creatures makes the characters fighting for their friends seem that much more full of heart and the monsters seem extra terrifying. The lush art style really makes the world feel alive and contrasts well with the horrors. Only the first volume has been released, we will have to see if it stays this compelling but for now it is one of my favorite new series. |
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RupanSansei
 Posts: 258 |
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Currently reading Granny Mischief via bilingual volumes. it is really funny & made by the creator of Sazae-san.
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zfunk
Posts: 553 |
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So Shinobi Undercover, just me or would this work better as a Naruto filler arc featuring one of the supporting character. I am sorry the plot is not a series, it is a anime filler arc.
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RupanSansei
Posts: 258 |
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Reading the 1 volume that was translated of Venus Wars
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10366 Location: Virginia |
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@RupanSansei
Dark Horse translated and published what they called The Venus Wars II in comic book format. Unfortunately I don't think they collected them in trade paperback format. I'm not sure how this corresponds to the volumes published in Japan. Is that part of what you are reading? Note: this was 15 issues between June 1992 and August 1993. |
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shosakukan
Posts: 385 |
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The web site of Dark Horse says that they have published the Venus Wars Volume 1 TPB in 1993, and what RupanSansei has mentioned may be this Dark Horse manga 'tankōbon'. In Japan, the Gakushū Kenkyūsha publishing firm, which was well-known for its educational books and magazines, released 4 volumes of the Venus Wars manga tankōbon in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The Venus Wars manga consists of two arcs, and Volume 1 and Volume 2 cover the 1st arc, and Volume 3 and volume 4 cover the 2nd arc. Judging from the summary of the English edition's story on Dark Horse's web site, Dark Horse's Venus Wars comic books (14 issues?) seem to be equivalent to Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Japanese edition tankōbon, and Dark Horse's Venus Wars II comic books (15 issues) seem to be equivalent to Volume 3 and Volume 4 of the Japanese edition tankōbon. Regarding the pagination, the Amazon USA site says that Dark Horse's Venus Wars Volume 1 TPB has 117 pages. Since Volume 1 of the Japanese edition Venus Wars pagination-wise has approx. 250 pages, Dark Horse's Venus Wars Volume 1 TPB may only cover half of the story in Volume 1 of the Japanese edition Venus Wars. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10366 Location: Virginia |
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@shosakukan
You provide a wealth of information. I really appreciate this. I have wondered for some time if Dark Horse did all of Venus Wars or if there was a portion not translated. Based on what you provided they did do all of the series in comic book form. It helps that I have all of the series in comic book format and the volume 1 Trade Paperback. Unfortunately the trade paperback does not have page numbers and I'm not about to count them. Fortunately the comic issue do have page numbers which simplified things. The trade paperback ends on the same page as the #7 issue of the comic books. Adding together the first seven issues comes to approximately 250 pages. Clearly Amazon is wrong. Edited to add: I found an ad for The Venus Wars trade paperback in a later Dark Horse publication. They advertise it as 252 pages. Adding the first 14 issues of the comic which Dark Horse put out as The Venus Wars comes to a total of 499 pages. It also contains a complete story arc. Individual issues range between 30 and 44 pages each. To get the whole of the first story arc if you have the volume 1 trade paperback you would have to find issues 8 through 14. Adding together the additional 15 issues which Dark Horse put out as The Venus Wars II and renumbered as issues 1 to 15 comes to a total of approximately 475 pages. This contains a second complete story arc. It is related to the first story only to the extent that it involves the same war on the same planet. It takes place on the other side. That is among the enemy side of the first story. |
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shosakukan
Posts: 385 |
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It's a pleasure.
Since 117×2 ≈ aprox. 250, in the basement of the Amazon building, with sleepy eyes, the scullion for Amazon USA may have done a count of how many pieces of paper the manga book had between the covers, rather than having pagination-wise done a count. ^_^; In the Japanese edition, each of the volumes has approx. 250 pages. In the Japanese edition, Volume 1 has a map of the area on Venus which is related to the story. Volume 2 has a Q and A section in which Yasuhiko Yoshikazu answered questions from readers of the Venus Senki (Venus Wars) manga. Volume 2 also has an announcement about the anime version of The Venus Wars. The Venus Senki manga was serialised in Gakushū Kenkyūsha's Comic Nora magazine. Speaking of 'map', Hasegawa Yūichi's Maps manga, too, was serialsed in (the SF Animedia magazine and) the Comic Nora magazine. (SF Animedia was the predecessor of Comic Nora.) Occidental anime fans who don't know the Japanese manga scene in a first hand way may not know that Maps is a prime representative of Hasegawa's early efforts, but older people among them may have watched the ADV edition of the 1994-1995 version Maps OVA. As I have said, the Gakushū Kenkyūsha publishing company was well-known mainly for its educational books and magazines, and Gakushū Kenkyūsha also published many educational manga books, and those educational manga sold well. Gakushū Kenkyūsha's series of educational manga which was released in the 1970s and 1980s is nostalgic 'classics' for Japanese people who were primary-school pupils in the 70s and the 80s. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10366 Location: Virginia |
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@shosakukan
The map was a two page spread. There was also a two page article on the author though I didn't notice if it was a Q&A or not. (I put them back in storage) The reason I gave an approximate count for each section was I wasn't sure how many times both should have been counted. The map showed up twice in the first 14 comics and at least three times in the remaining 15. The article about the author showed up in both sections. |
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