manga reading poll

[meganbmoore]

Same thing as last time. And thanks primarily to rightstuf.com's Viz and Tokyopop sales, it's about the same amount. I blame my recent Clamp and Kaori Yuki obsessions. The thinking here is that you're going to be stuck with manga posts anyway, and those of you who actually read them can say you'd rather read about Random Cracktastic Awesome Manga instead of Random Obscuree Thing That Caught Megan's Eye And No One Has Ever Heard Of. (Plus "17 people said to read this one" helps when staring at the shelf, wndering what to read next.)

People who love me will not vote for mainlining 30+ volumes of Clamp, Kaori Yuki, Higuri You and Matsuri Hino manga. Except that most of you don't love me so much as you love to read me deliberately breaking my brain with their manga.

[Poll #1293527]


*Short story collections and single volume series.
** Newly released series by Matsuri Hino (Vampire Knight)


BTW, can anyone tell me how many volumes of the manga the first season of Yu Yu Hakusho covers? Or does it break away early?

Comments

[badtzphoto.livejournal.com]

Usagi Drop by Yumi Unita, Tenshi Nanka ja nai by Yazawa Ai(I think you may have read this already), Yamada Taro Monogatari by Morinaga Ai, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō by Hitoshi Ashinano, and of course Yotsuba!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Not sure I've even heard of those. (I actually meant manga I already read, but stated it poorly. But I always welcome recs!)

[badtzphoto.livejournal.com]

sorry, I though *I* mean me not the questioner :)

wiki page for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_Kaidashi_Kik%C5%8D): it's mostly slice of life - setting in a future when robots look like people. I have some of the Japanese books even though I can't read Japanese.
I'm not sure if you prefer links to manga updates or wiki - I don't mind spoilers so I usually read wiki - warning, there may be spoilers in the Synopsis for Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai because it's completed.

wiki for USagi Drop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usagi_Drop): it's kind of like "Baby and me" but the main character was a 30-year-old successful man who became a reluctant care for his 5 or 6 year old aunt (out of his grandfather's affair, and the grandfather died - no one was willing to take care of her).

wiki for Tenshi Nanka ja nai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenshi_Nanka_Ja_Nai), by the same mangaka as NANA and Paradise kiss. This was one of her earlier works - it's kind in the genre of High School Debut.

wiki for Yotsuba&! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsuba%26!): it's about a 6 years old - she's cute. It's licensed by ADV and they released the first 5 volumes - then it's been *canceled*. There are 8 in Japanese.

[cavechan.livejournal.com]

Yokohama and Yotsuba& are definitely reccommended by me~! Didn't know ADV cancelled Yostuba though. That makes me really sad since it had more awesome than Azumanga Daioh and... somehow wasn't nearly as popular. =_= Not enough schoolgirl I guess. *sigh*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō, also known as Records of a Yokohama Shopping Trip is one of the best manga I have ever read. "[S]etting in a future when robots look like people" may give you the wrong idea of it. It is a pastoral, slow-moving manga set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, only we're never told what the apocalypse is - it may be ecological - and the people there don't really know, either. The primary character is Alpha, a human-appearing robot who runs a small cafe in a rural community. She observes the people and the world around her, discovering the small beauties of life, watching local children grow up, and wondering about the people who came before her. This is the sort of manga where an entire chapter can consist of someone making a cup of coffee and drinking it while enjoying the sunrise.

HIGHLY recommended, and it's an utter shame that it hasn't been licensed yet.

Aqua/Aria is the same sort of story, only without the postapocalyptic angle. Not quite as good, IMO, but still well worth reading. I've just watched the first season of the anime (available via Netflix), and it doesn't *quite* have the feel of the manga, but if you like landscape porn, it's well worth watching. I took a bunch of screenshots to (eventually) make a post about it. Aqua 1-2 is the first part of the story, then the mangaka switched publishers and changed the name to Aria, which picks up almost immediately after Aqua 2. Like YKK, it's episodic without a larger story arc other than "Akari discovers the small wonders of Neo-Venezia and falls more deeply in love with her city."

My pimp post for Aqua/Aria on the yuletide Needy Fandoms Post is here (http://community.livejournal.com/yuletide/578158.html?thread=4058734#t4058734).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I actually read the first volume or two of Aria before its original US publisher cancelled it. (That's happened to me a lot. Does it say something about my tastes?) All I really remember, though, is that it's pretty and seemed to have very vague shoujo-ao undertones.

[octopedingenue]

USAGI DROP SOCUTE

[kakkobean.livejournal.com]

*thinks*

Uuumm...I'm guessing that the first season covers the first arc in the series, since there are four seasons of the anime which each cover a specific story arc.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's the first 28 eps, if that helps.

[kakkobean.livejournal.com]

*thinks*

Uuuuuhhh...*goes back to wiki* this might help you (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_YuYu_Hakusho_chapters)

[cavechan.livejournal.com]

I see Houshin Engi~~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yup. It's just going a little slowly because I've seen the anime, and while i prefer the manga so far, the storylines are still pretty slose together. (Same thing w/ Spiral.)

[cavechan.livejournal.com]

It will split pretty soon. Obviously a lot got cut out from the 20 volumes. (Or was it 21? my bad brain.) Dakki's completely different. I wish I could say more but of course I won't spoil. XD

[tianneh.livejournal.com]

I voted for Skip Beat - I don't read shoujo romance, so I figured that me liking it is some testament to its quality.

I 2nd Yamada from the 1st comment. Again, shoujo romance that I somehow liked. Not to mention Lovely Complex.

Other random (and absolutely haphazard suggestions):
Hinata no Ookami (Shinsengumi fiction, Hijikata-centric, I might blog about this when I have the time), Shimizu Reiko's work (with the exception of Kaguya-Hime, but that's just me), Itou Junji (horror, bizarre), and...I would rec more, but I think we got to know each other due to those (Blade of the Immortal? Natsume?).

I'm not into manga as much as I am into novels, so I'm probably not to be trusted.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think it was BOTI.

[tianneh.livejournal.com]

Have you see the latest instalment for BOTI yet? Anotsu was simply terrific.

+then I'm reccing Natsume no Yuujinchou-->stress-relief that makes you feel all warm and gooey inside.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I only read BOTI in licensed format.

[southerndave.livejournal.com]

Whichever one is the "Raised by pigeons!" story. Or the one with the kid doing martial arts to fix toasters or whatever strange thing like that it was he did. Recommendation redoubled if both of them are the same story.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Same story. I actually read Vol 3 at A-Kon, but in bits and pieces, and since I already read it, I keep forgetting to actually buy my copy and post of it.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Definitely for a rest Aqua & Aria, especially after you've read something brain-breaking!

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I would really, really love to know what you think of Phoenix Wright if you have not played the games. I suspect it'll be a different experience but....

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Nope, haven't played the games.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I didn't think so. I'd love to see what someone coming cold to them thinks.

[wingstodust.livejournal.com]

=OOOOOOOOOOO

Kingdom of the Winds manhwa is *licensed*???

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yup. First volume came out before filming started, I think.

[wingstodust.livejournal.com]

... guess what ELSE I`ll be blowing my money on next tuesday manga shopping...? *dies*

[havocthecat]

I, um, clicked on the two titles I recognized and wanted to hear more on.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

Kare Kano for sure.

Tenshi Nanka ja nai... somehow I don't think you're going to like this one. It's not horrible, but its very basic oldschool shoujo with all the tropes, some of which annoy me (remember when I was telling you and siobhan about the manga where the guy is hung up on his brother's gf and then when he finds out the heroine has a new bf he just picks up and leaves? This is the one.) I hear the mangaka's other work is quite good. Tenshi seems like one of her older works.