What Are You Reading?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ashita no Joe is usually considered a classic and one of the best manga/anime ever made. It wasn't just Bakuman that made that claim, it seems to be widely loved there.

I'm aware of that. It was also clearly HnI's main inspiration. I saw a crossover picture in the manga for HnI featuring Ippo shaking hands with Joe, which is what piqued my interest in checking it out.

What's your take on the series, BTW? I'm assuming that you've read it since it always seems to me like you've read everything.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I haven't read much, unfortunately. It's always been on my list to read through someday, and I've looked up a bunch about it but... I never got around to it. Someday, hopefully.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Still need to read that Vinland Saga volume I bought, though...

I forgot about it for a little while cause I was reading Rurouni Kenshin, Berserk, Ghost in the Shell, etc. I want to finish Akira first, but I'll definitely be getting to Vinland pretty soon. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

OK, then I'll let you know how it is when I read more of it, myself.

I also intend to start Eyeshield 21 soon. I've grown somewhat fascinated with the shounen sports genre, not because I think it's inherently great, but it's a really entertaining sub-genre in both a cheesy and genuine way, and I'm trying to discern it's own set of tropes and cliches that somehow make its formula work.

Oh, and once I catch up to HnI, I'll probably start Detective Conan as my next long-running shounen manga.

[LumRanmaYasha]

On the topic of Ashita no Joe, I've been interested in that series for a few years now as well. I'll probably go through and catch up on Hajime no Ippo first, but let me know if it's truly worthy of it's classic title, E-K. 

I also intend to start Eyeshield 21 soon. I've grown somewhat fascinated with the shounen sports genre, not because I think it's inherently great, but it's a really entertaining sub-genre in both a cheesy and genuine way, and I'm trying to discern it's own set of tropes and cliches that somehow make its formula work.

I enjoy Eyeshield 21, though admittedly I've never finished it and I began a re-read of it a short while back that I haven't made much progress on. However, I will say that it's a very likable series and I think you'd enjoy reading it, though again, my memory on after the first few volumes is fuzzy and incomplete at best.

Oh, and once I catch up to HnI, I'll probably start Detective Conan as my next long-running shounen manga.

One thing you should know about Case Closed is that you have to make peace with the fact the "plot" isn't going to go anywhere climatic anytime soon and just enjoy it as an episodic detective/mystery series, which I enjoy it as. That isn't to say that core plot development never happens, but it's pretty rare and it's not really the "point" of the series. In fact, the "plot" doesn't really get rolling until a certain character (my favorite character in the entire series, btw) shows up in volume 18, after which there are periodically arcs featuring the Black Organization and FBI and a whole lot of stuff I'm not gonna spoil. I still enjoy new chapters of the series, and the new mysteries, and the series maintains a pretty great quality for running as long as it has and for the kind of series it is. I do think the anime improves on the storylines it adapts from the manga for the most part, but the anime is also mostly comprised of filler mysteries because of how the manga is, so it's definitely easier to read the series than watch. Anyway, that's just my two cents as a long-time Detective Conan/Case Closed fan.  I hope you enjoy reading it when you get to it.

[Avaitor]

So apparently Warren Ellis is going to write for Moon Knight now. Color me intrigued.

Also, I got a freebie copy of the first issue of Saga, so Imma check out if it's worth picking up the volumes for. I actually have a gift card for the comic book shop thanks to a Build a Dalek game, and while I was considering using it towards a Black Widow graphic novel I've been eyeing for a while, who knows, I might go for this instead.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm 8 chapters into Ashita no Joe so far, and I'm really enjoying it. I love how it really doesn't just jump into boxing. So far, its been mor about Joe's life on the streets, and only now that he's in juvenile prison does he start showing any interest in boxing. He feels more like an actual character than just someone written to make the sport look awesome.

Meanwhile in that other boxing manga that I'm reading, I'm honestly finding the Miyata vs. Randy Boy Jr. fight to be dissapointingly underwhelming given all of the build-up to it. Still, this manga overall has produced a ton of great and memorable fights, so here are my top 5 favorites so far.

1. Ippo Makanouchi vs. Takeshi Sendo (JFC match)
2. Mamoru Takamura vs. Brian Hawk (WBC JMW World Title match)
3. Ippo Makanouchi vs. Ryuuhei Sawamura (JFC defense)
4. Eiji Date vs. Ricardo Martinez (WBA FW World Title match)
5. Ippo Makanouchi vs. Ichirou Miyata (4-round spar)

An honorable mention has to go to Mashiba vs. Sawamura. Seeing 2 of the most heel-ish fighters in the series duke it out was way too much fun.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I just read volume 1 of Flame of Recca today. It was...okay. Nothing particularly notable so far, but the character interactions worked for me pretty well which is enough to make me want to read more (I'm an easy to please guy if likeable and/or interesting characters are in the mix). 

[VLordGTZ]

I finally finished Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable.  While I felt it wasn't as good as Stardust Crusaders or Battle Tendency, the arc was still quite enjoyable and Yoshikage Kira was a pretty good antagonist.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm really liking where Ashita no Joe is going. I'm 16 chapters in and not a single boxing match has happened yet, which I'm realizing is only because this manga is currently more about the character and his story than it is about the sport. And, I do like other sports manga that I've read/watched quite a bit, but Joe is awesome just for being a well-rounded character in general. I also love how he's not a goodie-two-shoes sports role-model. He's a hooligan who's currently in a juvenile prison and probably just got his term extended for a failed break-out attempt. And, now he finally has a rival. After Rikiishi knocked him out with just a single punch, it looks like this is where he's finally starting to consider taking boxing seriously.

I just read volume 1 of Flame of Recca today. It was...okay. Nothing particularly notable so far, but the character interactions worked for me pretty well which is enough to make me want to read more (I'm an easy to please guy if likeable and/or interesting characters are in the mix).

Flame of Recca is very much a time capsule of typical 90's shounen. It embodies all of the tropes and cliches of the genre in one neat package. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as it gets better and starts to execute them well. For me, the highlight was the tournament arc, which isn't quite as good as YYH's Dark Tournament, but it's still a really entertaining point in the series. I stopped reading not too long after that because the story kind of slowed down for me, but overall it's one of those manga that is good but never quite reaches the heights of greatness.

[gunswordfist]

I gave up on Recca after the first volume.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Flame of Recca is a good shonen, but not great. I do recommend reading it because it's fairly good for what it is.

I suggest reading MAR afterward if only to see the fate of one particular character. (Otherwise it's not all that good)

[LumRanmaYasha]

Heh, I watched/read all of MAR back when the first half of the anime streamed on Toonami Jetstream (and I even have a copy of volume 14 of the manga, which has the final two fights of the Chess Games). I liked it as a kid, but when I re-visited it in 2010 or whatever I found it rather dull (didn't help that most of the entire series is basically a tournament arc).

Despite MAR's general meh-ness, I am perfectly willing to read more Flame of Recca for now since I liked the first volume well enough (and because it's a fast read). I probably will not be in a rush to read anymore, but whenever I see a volume about at the library I'll pick it up. Though I'm calling that the character you are referring to is Nanashi,  because I recall that there were several hints in MAR itself that he was from another world.

Anyways, I've caught up on Magi, and all I want to say about it atm is that I'm excited for what'll happen in the next arc since Magnostadt had some serious game-changing developments. It'll be fun to watch it in the anime.

I have also finished up to volume 25 of Rurouni Kenshin. The Remembrance arc was classic tragedy, pure and simple. Everything else in the Revenge arc is pretty great and so far I might end up loving this arc more than I did Kyoto. I'll probably finish the series tonight after I finish some homework I need to get done, since I'm keen and excited to finish this story.   

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'll be interested to see your opinions. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm about 6 volumes into Ashita no Joe. Yep, definitely living up to being one of the best manga ever, so far.