What Are You Reading?

[Pharass]

Still in the process of reading it. I read quite a lot of different titles, so my buying-schedule for each one tends to be pretty irregular, if not non-existent.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

OK, I've been reading more of Attack On Titan, and while I still say that its a decent shonen series up to this point, I could see how this might have bad pacing in the anime. The thing is, in a manga its OK since you can read at your own pace, so I really have no problem with the pacing here. In the anime, however, from what I've heard it covers little more than a chapter per episode, which is obviously a big problem, since a chapter of manga does NOT cover nearly as much as a single anime episode should be able to, so in that regard it could make this series feel awfully slow-paced and dragged out in anime form.

As far as Titan goes, though, I think its main strength is that the story has just enough intrigue to keep me reading. Which is to say its good at not letting you know too much about the Titans as creatures or about how the last human civilization works, but it also doesn't make the mistake of raising too many questions either. It remains pretty focused on a few key things, which I think works out in the series's favor. Its major weakness for me, however, is in its characters. The main 3 characters are fine enough, IMO. None of them have gotten any interesting development, but they are understandable and likable for who they are. Everybody else....yeah, I can't even remember their names, let alone actually give a shit about whether they liver or die, and for a survival type series like this, that's a major problem. Still, unlike many stories of this ilk, I'll at least say that there aren't any characters who downright piss me off in any unintentional way, so that's a major plus. What I mean to say is that, this series at least isn't complete horse-shit like Gantz, IMO.

As for the whole tone of the series being too dark n' edgy or whatever....this is one case where I don't entirely get that complaint. People are being horribly eaten alive by disgusting monsters....what the hell do you expect but for them to be pretty grim? Are they supposed to occasionally die or watch their friends get eaten with a smug grin on their face? I can understand if this tone is not your thing, but even so, the tone still makes sense given the context of the series, so I don't really see any merit to this complaint, yet. Its just like how I don't get people hating on Shinji from NGE so much when you consider that his actions and emotions make sense based on how everyone treats him like complete shit for no reason. If anything, I'd direct my hate towards the other characters putting a shit-load of pressure on a freaking teenager than on the poor sap himself. My point is that sometimes I don't know what the fuck people are talking about when they make certain complaints.

One thing I will speak out against is people calling this series great, though. Its not. Not even close. Now, if you disagree with me and like it that much, I'm not going to say you're wrong, but I'm only judging it based on my standards. I attest that its a genuinely decent read. It is NOT, however, comparable to something like Madoka Magica, for instance. Yes, that's a completely different kind of series, I know, but my point is that the latter is a series I would consider great (even if its not a personal favorite of mine). Its great because it brings so much to the table that you'd probably need to re-watch it at least once to get everything out of it. The show has running themes that stay consistent throughout, terrific world-building, characters that develop in a natural way throughout the series without any of it feeling forced, and tons of interesting subtext that you by no means need to read into to enjoy Madoka Magica as a story, but does enrich the experience even further if you do (though, the story is just fine on its own). Its also a story that's never up its own ass, so that helps too. Oh, and its got pacing down perfectly. Compare that to Titan and....its just a story of people trying not to get eaten by giants. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but there's nothing more to it, either. The characters are 2-dimensional at best, and as an added weakness to this kind of series based on its premise, there really isn't an interesting villain. They could make a human foil within the ranks, but that cliche is pretty tired so I'm actually glad that they haven't resorted to that just yet (though the series very well may do that the further along in it I read).

Now, comparing it to another shonen to be a bit more fair, it still doesn't quite measure up to something like Hunter X Hunter either, IMO. I'll give Titan credit for having violence that isn't nearly as senseless as in HXH, and it never even comes close to the lows of that series, but it never reaches the highs it has, either. At its best, HXH presents some pretty interesting themes, wonderfully 3-dimensional villains, VERY interesting psychological struggles BETWEEN the protagonists and villains, and if nothing else, the general weirdness of the series can also be seen as a tad bit refreshing as even when its dark and gritty, it still feels insanely different from anything you've read before, sometimes for the worse, but usually its a good thing.

So, yeah, Titan doesn't quite compare to the best of shonen, either. That said, I could probably pit it with something like Death Note. Both are darker sorts of shonen series that aren't incredibly deep but both series have authors who KNOW that they aren't writing deep series, and instead play to the strengths of their own respective series pretty wisely. Death Note just happens to be more up my alley, but you could say Titan is about on the same level in terms of quality, so if its not your thing its perfectly reasonable to hate on it, but since it doesn't try to treat itself like more than it is (like Gantz does), I do still enjoy this series on a base level of: I like action, violence, and a little bit of mello-drama without going too overboard on it. So, yeah, despite it being a flawed series and nowhere near great, I do still find it to be a decent read based on the grounds that I just mentioned.

[Foggle]

I agree with you completely about Titan, E-K. I was really taken in by the first few episodes, but I've honestly lost interest now.

Now, if you want to read something with good character development and a lot of subtleties, you could continue Excel Saga...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I agree with you completely about Titan, E-K. I was really taken in by the first few episodes, but I've honestly lost interest now.

Well, I haven't lost interest in the series, to be clear. I just never thought it was anything near great, but reading it for what it is, I find it to be an amusing way to kill time, if that makes any sense.

Now, if you want to read something with good character development and a lot of subtleties, you could continue Excel Saga...

I am reading it. I just take a break in-between volumes is all. I'm going to be starting volume 3 soon.

[Foggle]

How far into the story are you? If you're where I think you are, shit's about to get real, and said shit getting real is what made me stop caring about the series. As for it being "too dark", I don't think it is on the whole, but a couple of moments in the story made me groan at how edgy they were attempting to be. Also, the only character I liked at all was Potato Girl.

I am reading it. I just take a break in-between volumes is all. I'm going to be starting volume 3 soon.

The build up is slow, but I think you'll really get into it once you hit a certain point.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

How far into the story are you? If you're where I think you are, shit's about to get real, and said shit getting real is what made me stop caring about the series. As for it being "too dark", I don't think it is on the whole, but a couple of moments in the story made me groan at how edgy they were attempting to be. Also, the only character I liked at all was Potato Girl.

I'm at the part after they used that boulder to block the hole in the wall, and now I'm in the middle of all the flash-backs of their training. I don't mind the main 3 characters as it is. They aren't great characters by any means, but I don't see how they are unlikable, either (at least not yet). I don't really see anything noteworthy or memorable about any of the other characters, though.

The build up is slow, but I think you'll really get into it once you hit a certain point.

Yeah, I'm sure that'll happen too. I'm just pacing myself while reading it for now until I get to the "hooking" point.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Its major weakness for me, however, is in its characters. The main 3 characters are fine enough, IMO. None of them have gotten any interesting development, but they are understandable and likable for who they are. Everybody else....yeah, I can't even remember their names, let alone actually give a shit about whether they liver or die, and for a survival type series like this, that's a major problem.

This is my biggest problem with the series too. A lot of minor characters are introduced...but very few of them leave an impact and even the ones whose names I can remember barely do anything to make me really care about them. I like Armin, and Reiner at least got some spotlight that made the twist in Chapter 43 work for me, but even those characters don't have the depth or charisma that usually attracts me and invests me in a character and a series.

The characters are 2-dimensional at best, and as an added weakness to this kind of series based on its premise, there really isn't an interesting villain. They could make a human foil within the ranks, but that cliche is pretty tired so I'm actually glad that they haven't resorted to that just yet (though the series very well may do that the further along in it I read).

Oh, how disappointed you are going to be  (although the Beast Titan might actually be the real deal as far as a decent Titan antagonist in the series).

Attack on Titan's anime's pacing is okay as adaptions go. The more disappointing part of the anime will likely be the fact it won't end up ending at a good concluding point, although I guess they can manage to adapt through the Female Titan arc with decent enough pacing at least. In any case, I don't think this manga or the anime are as great as people have hyped. As far as new anime this year went, Gargantia was the best, with The Devil is A Part-Timer a close second.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm still reading Attack on Titan. However, I also recently started re-reading Saint Seiya from scratch since it was way too long ago where I left off in the anime and I needed to start from scratch, and I just decided to go for the manga this time. I'm also going to be starting up Excel Saga volume 3, fairly soon. Finally, I remembered that I still have yet to finish Flame of Recca, so I should probably go do that soon.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, this right here made me laugh my ass off for how genuinely over-the-top stupid it is...

Spoiler

[close]

Clearly Attack on Titan is the most brilliant comedy series of our time. There have been so many more moments that have made me flat-out laugh than there are parts that I have taken seriously, so clearly its meant to be humorous... right?

[Spark Of Spirit]

That is stupid for at least three different reasons. It has to be intentional.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That is stupid for at least three different reasons. It has to be intentional.

To be fair, even though a good chunk of AoT is unintentionally stupid, I DO legitimately believe that this scene is meant to be intentionally dumb to get a chuckle out of the reader. It just doesn't fit in with the style of anything else presented in the manga, even the other stupid stuff, so it kind of feels like the author was at least in on the joke, here. Of course I could be entirely wrong, but either way, I do oddly find that AoT becomes more entertaining for its unintentionally stupid moments than it becomes boring or anything else. Its not like Gantz where it just makes me hate its entire existence, but more like I just find its existence to be oddly amusing, even if its not really due to genuinely good writing.

[Avaitor]

That art is all over the place.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

So I recently realized that while I'm starting to really get into American comics, I've read next to no manga, so I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations. I already have Excel Saga and 20th Century Boys on my list. I can't say I would prefer any particular genre, although I do enjoy mystery/thrillers like Monster or Death Note.

[Avaitor]

Pretty much anything by Urasawa that isn't on your list should be added. Some Tezuka would be good as well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Rurouni Kenshin first of all.