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What are you reading right now? Why?


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Terrible90sDub



Joined: 14 Jul 2017
Posts: 168
PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:46 pm Reply with quote
I'm finally reading Vinland Saga, and I can easily see why it's so highly acclaimed. Thanks to its length, I still have several volumes to go, but unless something drastically changes later, it's already one of my favorite manga. I'm a sucker for stories focused on character development, and I appreciate the themes as well as the amount of historical data that went into it.

Seeing how an anime was announced, I can't wait to see which voice actors they pick for some of the characters, especially Canute.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 3:31 pm Reply with quote
I'm reading Evergreen. The story being from Toradora's author caught my interest. The characters are really likeable. Niki is a really fun character in particular, I like her goofiness and expressiveness. The art also makes everything really easy to read and follow, the character designs are nice and the various expressions the characters make are cute and funny. I'm really liking it so far.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9809
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 6:08 pm Reply with quote
@Cam0

I really enjoyed Evergreen. However I'm still trying to figure out where she put all that hair while swimming. I suspect an extra dimensional swim cap.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Finished Evergreen and overall I really enjoyed it. I feel like it ended a bit too abruptly. It needed a bit longer epilogue to have a more satisfying ending.

Alan45 wrote:
However I'm still trying to figure out where she put all that hair while swimming. I suspect an extra dimensional swim cap.


Yeah, I dunno either. Maybe someone serious about swimming who also has butt length hair could enlighten us. hehe.
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phia_one



Joined: 15 Jan 2012
Posts: 1654
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 1:20 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
phia_one wrote:
Stumbled upon a series called Harem Days: The Seven Starred Country. It's released by Bookwalker so it's digital only. It's a shame because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this series. It hasn't been completely translated yet, but the series is complete at 14 volumes.
The closet thing I can compare to is The Story of Saiunkoku.


Yes! I'm so glad someone else is reading this, and I whole-heartedly agree that it's very much got a Saiunkoku feel to it. I admit to some concern that they won't finish the translation, as happened with Love Me, My Knight, but the recent release of volume four assuaged my fear somewhat.


Nice to see someone else knows about it! I can't help but feel that if there was a physical release it would do well. Although that could be just wishful thinking on my part...
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phia_one



Joined: 15 Jan 2012
Posts: 1654
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Tue May 07, 2019 6:53 pm Reply with quote
Read Chio's School Road after enjoying the anime. I laugh my ass off almost every chapter. However, the biggest flaw the series has is Madoka whose shtick is "I love groping girls!" Aside from that, the comedy works well for the most part since I actually like the characters. That, and video game references.
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4595
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2019 9:36 am Reply with quote
phia_one wrote:
Read Chio's School Road after enjoying the anime. I laugh my ass off almost every chapter. However, the biggest flaw the series has is Madoka whose shtick is "I love groping girls!" Aside from that, the comedy works well for the most part since I actually like the characters. That, and video game references.


Well, the writer did come out of hentai comics. Being curious- I looked up some of those and a couple are obvious precursors and VERY WRONG!
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#Hristov



Joined: 24 May 2019
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri May 24, 2019 4:21 pm Reply with quote
Uzumaki by Junju Ito. The reason why I picked it up was because I was really interested in how a simple thing such as a "spiral" could be used abstractly and create a whole horror story from it. So far I'm in the middle of it. The art is great and the story feels like you are having a weird dream / nightmare.
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mariopepper



Joined: 20 Mar 2019
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2019 1:55 am Reply with quote
It helps to expand mind borders I suppose
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 5:50 pm Reply with quote
So apparently no one has read anything since May. Nice.

I'll admit, I myself have been more into video games lately than manga, but there's still a few things fresh on my mind.

Sorry For My Familiar 1-4
Now THIS was a series I was not expecting to like at all, has some isekai stuff going on, but I gotta say, I love the dynamic between the two leads and how overly ridiculous it all is and it embraces it. The adult guy (the "familiar") is a raging demon otaku who has been summoned to the demon world and tends to spend an awful lot of time harassing demons to learn more about them. You'd think this joke would get old after like, two times, but it's actually managing to keep it pretty fresh. It could be in part that his other personality trait is "needless risk-taker", so he's the first one to line up for a tournament where he'd have the opportunity to study demons AND make enough money for the next leg of the trip. The demon girl is rather more plain, but I am enjoying her well enough, and they don't have an Inuyasha/Kagome "Sit Boy!" thing going on either. She feels more like a teenage girl who is thinking "oh GOD don't let my dad make terrible dad jokes and embarass me in public!" But yeah, this is really solid and I want more!

Witch Hat Atelier 1
Damn, that's a strong debut! It's just setting up its fantasy setting so damn well with a solid twist on the magic powers thing. If only my comic shop were better about getting Kodansha in! But yes, pick this one up ASAP!

Kaiju Girl Carmelise 1
A random pick from the library. This really shouldn't be my thing, a teen romance where the girl will turn into Godzilla if she gets too emotional? Sounds like a pass to me. And yet, I totally want more. It could be that the two leads clearly already have crushes on each other (and go out on a date, resulting in the first emotional high), and while she's trying to push him away, at least it makes sense why (I mean, she turns into Godzilla! And only her mom knows). And thankfully, she's not trying hard enough at it to annoy the audience either. I think as long as it stays a short but sweet series (it hasn't been going on too long in Japan yet), this should be worth finishing up.

Elfen Lied
I liked the anime, though it's been ages since I've seen it. But damn, is this guy's art ugly. I haven't finished the first omnibus yet, so far it's mostly been the same as the anime except way uglier. Like, his paneling is fine at least, but damn are his faces and attempts at "cool perspective" bad, lol. Ima still finish this though, maybe have more to say after. So far, if you already enjoyed the anime, it's worth getting and I am enjoying it, it's just SO ugly.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9809
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:19 pm Reply with quote
@zawa113

Sorry 'bout that zawa, I still read a lot of manga and light novels, I'm just not that good at analyzing them. It doesn't help that if I get on a roll, I'll read five or more volumes in a day.

I do have something to comment on though. Today I receive my copy of The Poe Clan volume 1 (of 2) by Moto Hagio. I haven't started it yet, probably some time this week.

Fantagraphics has done their usual elegant, special hardback edition. The cover has what I take to be the main characters surrounded by roses on a pale yellow background. The format is extra large, about 9 1/2 by 7 inches which clearly displays the artwork. That is almost 500 pages of Hagio's work.

I hate what they have done here. To begin with the MSRP: is $40 which is going to cause problems for many who would otherwise buy her work. Hopefully, since there are only two volumes they will be able to get the other half out, unlike Wandering Son. Secondly this thing is huge. I'd call it a brick but it is substantially larger than a brick and at least as heavy. It is much to heavy and awkward to actually read. I've got fairly strong wrists and I couldn't keep it up for more than a few minutes at a time. It will pretty much have to be read at a table or desk. Normally I would read something like this at the table while eating meals, but with that light colored cover it will likely stain badly. Mad Mad

Damn it, books are to be read. They are not something you set out to stare at and "treasure".
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:24 pm Reply with quote
That reminds me, I still need to order my Poe Clan. At least the $80 will be split up over time (and are like, $30 online most places anyway). How does it compare in size to the other Fantagraphics stuff they've done for her? Heart of Thomas, Otherworld Barbara, Drunken Dream, etc?

Gotta say, going super deluxe edition on Wandering Son really hurt the series. I feel like they should've done omnibuses in oversized softcover, maybe with french flaps, if they wanted to a bit extra without being ridiculous. Shame I may never get to see the end of that series Sad Also, it's well known that the translator herself, Rachel Thorn, is trans, so I doubt it stopped because she didn't want to translate it anymore or something. Of course, she's also Moto Hagio's biggest fangirl ever, so at least she's still translating for Fantagraphics at the moment.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9809
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:19 am Reply with quote
I don't have anything else Fantagraphics put out by Hagio, just the early Viz titles so I can't make that comparison. However, a standard DC comic book (or graphic novel) is 10 1/4 by 6 1/2 inches and the pages of this are 9 1/2 by 7 inches ( the cover adds a 1/4 inch in both directions. Basically the same, if you allow for the differences between US and International paper. The problem is that this is almost two inches thick and weighs a ton. Also I think the weight is likely to damage the binding just sitting on the shelf.

This isn't going to shelve well with other manga. The only thing I have similar is very old trade paperbacks from Dark Horse and CPM (and they are in deep storage). Essentially, Fantagraphics has created an instant "classic". A "Classic"is something everyone wants to have read, but no one wants to read according to Mark Twain.

Edit: I just found the scale. Book weighs 3 pounds 8 ounces (1650 grams for the heathens).
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 9:34 am Reply with quote
I've had the same issue with Fantagraphics editions. I usually end up reading them lying on my bed on my stomach (not my most comfortable position) so as not to stain the covers and because they're too heavy to hold up and read. They are beautiful, but I have beautiful paperbacks too (mostly French editions of manga), and as you said, Alan45, I prefer to actually, you know, read my books. Even my antiques - I don't just collect them to be pretty; I buy them because I, for whatever reason, want to read about the adventures of The Linger-Nots or Bab the Sub-Deb.

Shelving is also an issue; my Fantagraphics books tend to end up shelved with some of my oversized nonfiction, which offends my sensibilities. (My books are pretty much the only organized thing in my house.) Since they don't send review copies, I often interlibrary loan their books because that's $40 I need to spend buying dog food.

Anyway, for the actual topic of this thread, I just finished both Grass and 10 Dance volume 4. I loved them both, although the former, a biography of a "comfort woman" during WWII (that's the term used in the text), was really hard to read, although very well done. 10 Dance remains one of my favorite new series. I love the depiction of dance and ballroom culture, and the romance is nicely devoid of a lot of the BL tropes I don't enjoy.

Next up is volume 11 of Ultraman, which is another favorite for no real reason that I can discern.
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mariopepper



Joined: 20 Mar 2019
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 1:57 pm Reply with quote
Grace of Nation. - 1 chapter. Really interestinf book despite I don't usualy read books
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