Manga reading... and attempting a new fandom = FAILURE

[naanima]

My LOVE for Eyeshield 21 cannot be textually rendered! It is the one series that brings me constant and consistent joy without falling into a deep, black hole of major suckage. Just finished reading chapter 322, and OMFG! Just OMFG!!!! It is really nice to finally get more background in regards to the American team, and awesome to see Agon is still a major dick despite some minor, really minor, changes in his personality. Sena and Panther just had their first face-off, and Panther definitely came out on top of that match, but OHHHHH, I CAN’T wait to see the rest of this match!

Have caught up to Katekyō Hitman Reborn!, just finished reading chapter 235… um, Xanxus is kind of really hot. I feel very dirty about this. Dino made his appearance on the equivalent of a MAGICAL UNICORN! And he is still such FAIL without his followers! SQUALO! WILL BE HERE SOON! OMFG! YES! And WHY AREN’T there MORE people shipping Squalo/Yamamoto?! WHY? The sad truth is that I really don’t like Gokudera that much, I don’t dislike him but he does NOTHING for me. I am all about YAMAMOTO! OMFG! SQUALO is COMING to train YAMAMOTO! A very YOUNG YAMAMOTO! EEEEE! I have also come to the realisation I don’t actually have ANY idea how the rings or the boxes work. Just absolutely none; every time they attempt to explain my eyes GLAZE over and my brain shut down. As far I’m concerned the rings and boxes are elementally aligned MAGICAL boxes that does MAGICAL things. This is very strange for me as I’m one of those really annoying nit-picker shounen-readers who expect internal consistency when it comes to the powers. I think this says a great deal about what I think of this series as a whole.

Read 10 volumes of Ookiku Furikabutte; SPORTS manga, you never fail me. While I quite enjoy the series, I do admit the main character Mihashi have NOT endeared himself to me in any way, shape or form. However, ABE! I LOVE you ABE! I’m unsure whether I’ll follow this series as there just isn’t enough going one with Mihashi to keep me interested. Oh, well.

Watched several Jonas Brothers interviews and performances… um, I think Korean boybands have spoiled me completely. I went into the interviews expecting some MAJOR pretty, major talent, some awesome personality traits and enough FANSERICE to make the world IMPLODE. I was sadly disappointed… while Joe is pretty and quite amusing I find Nick (?) and Kevin (?) rather meh. Actually that is not the complete truth; I find Kevin hilarious but not that physically attractive, and while I think Nick have potential I find him trying too hard to be what he isn’t for me to be that interested. So, it is with much regret that I must let go of a potential fandom full of awesome crackness.

Comments

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

As far I’m concerned the rings and boxes are elementally aligned MAGICAL boxes that does MAGICAL things. This is very strange for me as I’m one of those really annoying nit-picker shounen-readers who expect internal consistency when it comes to the powers. I think this says a great deal about what I think of this series as a whole.

Yeah... this is why I can't get into KHR. But then again I'm into hard-core seinen mode these days.

[naanima.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I'm quite aware of why I'm reading KHR; I just want to see how they get out of this whole time-traveling thing at which point I shall probably stop reading the series.

Also, do you have any suggestions for seinen manga? I suspect I may get much more enjoyment out of them than most of the shounen titles.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

The thing about KHR is that I feel the storytelling is a lot less polished than stuff like Bleach and Naruto, where the author is, yeah, kind of making it up as they go along, yet somehow, even if both series eventually got too tl;dr for me, at least they managed to make it have a consistent feel. Whereas with KHR it feels like a patchwork of tropes and the author throwing things to the wall to see what'll stick.

Hmm... Of the stuff I've been reading recently, a lot of it hasn't been translated into English. I would recommend Onmyouji; it definitely is interesting, even if it makes me feel compelled to do research. Heh, and there is always Ravages of Time. XD

[naanima.livejournal.com]

It is less polished and very. Plot and character wise it is greatly lacking, however, for some reason I find it extremely easy to read. Probably because my brain shuts down completely and I'm basically looking at pictures. Hmm.

I shall give Ravages of Time a serious try... soon. It is one of those series that I will read... I just need to be in the right frame of mind. Also, will give Onmyouji a try.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Haha, well, that sure would make it easier to read, if the words aren't even necessary. XD Not much to think about or ponder. I was kind of boggling awhile ago because I was watching some bona fide fans talk about how the fanfic writers were better at plot and characterization than the original writer, haha.

But yeah.. that's the thing about (good) seinen. It does give the brain a workout. Not sure what exactly the publishing classification of Onmyouji is (definitely not for kids though, not because of sex/violence issues but because of difficulty), but it makes my head all swirly, and I (thought I could) understand Japanese.

[naanima.livejournal.com]

That's it though! The fanfiction is BETTER than the manga. How sad it is.

My long term relationship with MPD Psycho have taught me much in regards to the ways seinen titles WORKS the brain. I read more seinen one shots than I do serials. I don't know how would be able to read MPD Psycho if it wasn't translated to English. I remember attempting to decipher the Chinese version only to stop after a page because it felt as if my brain was leaking out of my head.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

I've pretty much stopped reading fanfiction (in English) these days, I guess, so I can't relate to series in that way anymore. It does allow one to cross quite a few series off one's list, though. XD

Well, MPD Psycho is a speshul case, I think. Eventually I got fed up with it and stopped, I think. (And this is even reading the English fantranslation XD)

[supplanter.livejournal.com]

Oofuri is seinen! :p  (Sigh, scanlators, you do such good work AND YET IT COMES SO SLOWLY UGH)

I haven't read es21 since 310; is it a good time for catchup or does it look like an arc will get rounded out soonish?

(I haven't read naruto since 405, but I feel less convinced I should actually do something about that I HEAR HE TURNS INTO A FROG WHY)

[naanima.livejournal.com]

Oofuri is seinen! :p

I didn't realise! ... But why? I'm so confused at the classification system for this series. I adore Abe (and would like to propose to him) but I get the feeling it is going to take at least 15 volumes before I'm endeared to Mihashi.

E21 - Perhaps read up to chapter 318 or 320 but DO NOT start with 322, it will just drive you insane. I'm pretty much biting my nails waiting of the next chapter.

(I don't even remember when he turned into a frog... there is the Itachi thing, the Kakashi thing and a few other things, but I don't remember whether 405 covered that or not. Basically, any time something major happens in relation to Sasuke I return to reading, otherwise I don't really bother.).

[supplanter.livejournal.com]

Well, oofuri is published in a seinen magazine, so it's seinen. XD  I guess that's pretty much how it works... like JoJo magically became seinen partway through SBR, 'cause it got switched to Ultra Jump?  There's a lot of text and nitty gritty baseball mechanics-type stuff in it, so maturity-wise I guess it's definitely a cut above Naruto and KHR—or PoT, to be more direct. >.>

I like all of them, pretty much?  But I really like Mihashi in terms of his relationships with other characters, like with Kanou or Tajima.  And Abe, but that's a given. XD  It's kind of interesting because she'd been having all his teammates chime in with little narrations of their opinions of him (like Hanai while they visited his house for curry).  Er, but I tend to like main characters, or if I'm not actually all that fond of them, to like other characters based partly on how they relate to the main character, if that makes any sense?

My problem is I don't actually like Sasuke all that much, which is a huge problem if you want to enjoy Naruto. XD  I "liked" Itachi, though, and then... well, I assume he will/has come back into play at some point (I read fic all the time so I don't know if I've been spoiled or not).  I don't know if I know about this Kakashi thing, though!  Huh.

Shockingly, the only series I've been following with regularity is bleach, which is just about the saddest thing ever.  (OK, no, following KHR would be sadder. XD)  But now that the thing we all knew would happen re: an Ichigo/Ulquiorra faceoff has happened, I will probably be unable to sustain an interest, so who knows? ^^;;

[naanima.livejournal.com]

But Slam Dunk and E21 all spends a long time explaining the mechanics of the game, and the former is just all sorts of awesome... though E21 is a bit too fantastical I suppose. JoJo becoming seinen, AHAHAHAHAHA!

I love main characters, I can’t love a series without loving a main character, and this is always the case. I think one of the problems with Mihashi is that I can’t connect with him in any way, shape or form. He is so timid and so lacking in self-esteem that instead of feeling any form of empathy for him I just find him unreal. Not because I don’t think there are people like him but because I personally can’t connect with him. And because I can’t connect with Mihashi on a personal level I can’t like him.

See, that’s the thing, I love Sasuke more than any other character in the series. I LOVE Naruto but Sasuke will always be my favourite. Um, yes, Itachi definitely plays a part.... um, yeah. I think some part of fandom is still debating over the Kakashi thing. I have no idea what is happening in Bleach, I’ll probably get back into it when this arc finishes. (I’ll have you know, KHR is utterly BRILLIANT because I DON’T feel a lick of emotional attachment... or utilise my brain either).

[deathwombat.livejournal.com]

Eyeshield 21 is a bit iffy for me at the moment, they've got too many characters in the one place and the way Sena looked after being caught by Panther makes me feel that he's taken an unreasonable step back in character development.

Hitman Reborn looked too generic for me so I never really got into it.

A manga that I'm currently enjoying and I think that you might if you haven't already read it is Bakuman. It's done by the guys who did Death Note. The best way to describe it is that it's a manga about making manga.

[naanima.livejournal.com]

E21 - For me part of the reason I'm really enjoying the series ATM is because of the characters from the previous matches. That they are back and working with the Devil Bats as opposed to them. In regards to Sena I'm hoping he will snap out of it by the end of next chapter as he often does while encountering an obstacle that seems impossible to win over. That is, no judgment call till the end of this match.

Reborn - don't bother. Just don't. It is really generic but without the polish of other shounen series.

I MUST give this Bakuman a try!

[perseid.livejournal.com]

I KNOW RIGHT??? The Christmas Bowl game gave me goosebumps, it was stupendous! Can't wait to see how the match against the US goes!

Also, I am loving the way Gaou's eyes go aflame with anticipation. Hilarious!

[naanima.livejournal.com]

It is AMAZING! Just so amazing! The Christmas Bowl left me twitching on the floor. And when they did the drafting for the International match. OMFG! I LAUGHED so mcuh I NEARLY CRIED!

Gaou is all sort of hilarious. Him and Agon together is like the perfect Comic Duo because they take themselves so seriously.

LOVES!