What Are You Reading?

[gunswordfist]

Angus! How's it been, bud?

[Foggle]

DC really has gone crazy.

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/4471728.html

[gunswordfist]

DC really has gone crazy.

http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/4471728.html

[Foggle]

If you aren't reading the current Deadpool run, you really should be. It started off good, and it just gets better and better with each passing issue. #16 is a straight up masterpiece. This particular arc has the potential to go down as one of the greatest Deadpool stories of all time IMO.

[gunswordfist]

How do they do it? It's like 99% of the Deadpool comics are good to great.

[TheEclecticDude]

Manga I have recently/currently reading:

Gunsmith Cats
Triage X
The Sacred Blacksmith

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've been reading Hajime no Ippo as of late (I'm currently in the mid 400's). I wasn't too big on the fight between Ippo and that guy from Okinawa, but it did essentially neutralize the Dempsey Roll, which is great because that attack was becoming too overpowered, IMO. I was also getting tired of seeing it used to win matches, so it looks like now Ippo will have to work on something brand new in order to be able to fight against Miyata, as well as all of his future opponents.

[Avaitor]

I won a trivia game at the theatrical showing for S.H.I.E.L.D., and as a result won a $10 gift card for my local comic book shop. I'm going to decide if I use it for a graphic novel or a Funko vinyl figure when I go tomorrow.

[Spark Of Spirit]

There's a Trigun omnibus coming out in a few months. I've been waiting for one for the original series for a while now, so I finally have a point to get them for my re-read.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm currently just over 500 chapters into Hajime no Ippo. The manga has definitely picked up steam again. Ippo's last fight was great, and I like how the current flashback is finally going into the story about his father, which was only ever teased at since the beginning of the series.

[Angus]

Is that for Trigun or Trigun Maximum?  I remember the second volume was pretty thick for the first series.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The one coming out is for the original Trigun series. Maximum already has omnibus collections coming out.

[Grave]

Like Ensatsu-ken, I'll be reading Hajime no Ippo, probably in the same spot where he's at since I want to pick up where New Challenger ended at.

And then after what seems like almost a year or 2, I'll be getting back into One Piece again as well. Figured a good starting place would be the Alabasta arc since I don't feel like trudging through Buggy and whatnot. With Naruto being so bad at this point, and Bleach being fairly mediocre I figured Oda would've probably hit his stride again since I thought the content after Impel Down was going at a downward spiral, and then having the crew come together the way they did, I couldn't really get back into it. "Shrugs" we'll see.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ughhh...Naruto....It has been so goddamn boring that it's downright painful to read. You know, I don't like Naruto to begin with, but compared to the quality of the manga now, the early stuff almost comes off as legitimately good. At least that stuff went somewhere. I feel like with this extremely long war arc, Masashi Kishimoto is trying to establish that Naruto has evolved as a series both in scope and depth, and he's clearly trying to shove philosophical and psychological themes and whatnot down people's throats with these character. The only problem is that, Kishimoto is not Togashi. He doesn't have the talent to pull this kind of stuff off. Say what you will about the Chimera Ant arc's faults, and it does have plenty of them, but it also had legitimately great writing. Gon and Killua went through some excellent character development that came as natural based on the events unfolding before them, and Meruem's character development as a villain was expertly handled, and once again made sense based on who he was as a character to begin with.

With Tobi from Naruto, he's a completely contrived villain who is more of a vehicle to spew out twisted ideals about the world rather than being an actual believable character who feels like he naturally progressed to the point that he did. So, he had a tragic back story....like, every other character in this fucking series. What makes him stand-out so much from the rest that made him go on his path? What, just some old guy (Madara) telling him some stuff about the world suddenly convinces him to do a complete 180 and become a villain? That's the biggest bullshit that I've ever seen. It baffles me that there are STILL people out there who think this stuff is legitimately good, and even more so that some think that Naruto is one of the best shounen out there for doing "original" stuff such as this. Seriously, this type of villain has been done so many times before, and much better at that. Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho had a similar concept behind him, except his character actually made sense based on who he was and how he was already a character who would naturally progress to the point where he would become a villain. Also, his goal wasn't as stupid as creating a virtual dream world.

And if you want to know something really sad, even old-school video games have done this type of villain before. Ninja Gaiden III on the NES (yes, a fucking Ninja Gaiden game) had a villain who was basically about going against humanity itself for being corrupt and evil. It was just as stupid and came completely out of left-field, but at least that game had the excuse of being a campy NES title that took less than an hour to beat. This shit in Naruto has been going on for ages, now.

Anyways, I'm done ranting about this crap, but it really does piss me off with how bad it is.

On a brighter note, Hajime no Ippo is still an awesome manga so far (I'm around chapter 540, at this point). As far as sports manga go, this one is kind of making me realize some other problems that I have with Kuroko no Basket, which I still like quite a bit, but it definitely feels lacking when I read it now after having seen and read so much of HnI.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Ugh, I need to write up my progress reports on this manga challenge I'm doing much more often or I can't talk about what I've read well...

Didn't learn from your mistakes, eh?   

Anyway, I didn't accomplish my goal of finishing 100+ manga series in the summer, not that I expected to. The point was to try and read and finish all sorts of manga to have as much experience with manga as I do with cartoons, and just to try out some good  series I hadn't read yet in general. So, to that effect, I succeeded, and have read and/or finished a shit-load of different manga these past four months. I'm going to just list them, because if I'm going to talk about them I'd rather say something meaningful an I can't with a couple of them because they aren't fresh in my memory, so instead I'll just grade them based on a scale, and add comments on some of them if need be.

20th Century Boys volumes 2-5.  Reaction: 9.5/10 - Man, I  am in love with this series so far! The Friends conspiracy moved way faster than I thought it would, and I downright loved Kenji's attempts to stop the Friends in 2 and 3, and of course Otcho's storyline in volume 4. The characters are really nicely defined, too, with Kenji, Yukiji, and Otcho being my favorites at the moment, and I might come to like this cast much more than Monster's, crazy as that may sound. But I am a little confused as to why there was a sudden timeskip so early on in the series. I am liking Kanna as a protagonist from what little I've seen her in action, but it's jarring to go from Kenji, Otcho, and company preparing to stop a giant robot to see what his niece is up to 14 years in the future. But that said, it's still got me interested, and I am thinking on binging on the rest of the series in the next two weeks until I finish it!

Animal Land volumes 1-7. Reaction: 10/10 - I may be in love with 20th, but I am downright adoring this series! Makoto Raiku hasn't lost his great sense of humor from Zatch Bell, but he has significantly increased his storytelling skills. And that's Animal Land's greatest feature, it's story. It takes no easy ways out, is downright brutal and harsh when it has to be, but never lets it's dark elements overwhelm the plot to the point where there is no hope or joy. There are several tear-jerking moments, and the plot seems to be going to an interesting place. Taroza has to be the most reasonable shonen manga protagonist I've seen, as he genuinely has to think out what's best in a world based solely on survival, but his optimism is inspiring as well. I have to admit that I am a teeny bit disappointed that the setting is a post-apocalyptic future rather than some spiritual world, because the explanation for why the 5 humans are in Animal Land is a little convoluted. That doesn't change the fact it's a great story completely devoid of the bothersome qualities found in modern shonen manga, and a breath of fresh air in the battle-heavy manga output these days. I'd like to confirm that it's the best shonen manga currently running (One Piece is still the best in overall quality, but I'm talking about on a per chapter basis right now), but sadly, no one translates this series. That said, I'll eagerly buy future volumes to see where Raiku will take the story after Taroza's decision at the end of volume 7. I'm expecting a time-skip, maybe with Taroza, Riemu, and Capri as teenagers or adults, but I really don't know where the story will go at this point, but since Zatch Bell only got better and better as it went on, I have faith Animal Land'll continue to please and surprise me.

Astro Boy volumes 1-2 Reaction: 9/10 - The first of four Tezuka manga I've read, and the only one I haven't finished, I have to say that this series deserves it's iconic status and is testament enough to Tezuka's status as the "God of Manga." It's quality holds up in comparison to the seinin work of his I've read and I dare say is better than several currently running manga in terms of story. It's simple and uncomplicated, but it's not sophomoric, quite the opposite. I still need to read more of the series, but it's a shame it isn't talked much about in comparison to his other works, even if it's still his most famous because of the anime.

Dororo. Reaction: 10/10 - The second of the four Tezuka manga I've read, and the first I completed. Even with it's rushed ending, it was still a fun ride to the finish, and Hyakkimaru is a great and interesting character.

Barbara. Reaction: 10/10 -  Of all of his works, this is my favorite manga by Tezuka. A tale exploring the depths of sanity and madness, morality and sin, with two interesting and complicated leads...even with Tezuka's trademark humor, this is certainly an "adult" manga, and the darkest of all the works of his I've read. God bless Kickstarter and DMP for helping to translate this gem of manga.

Apollo's Song. Reaction: 10/10. - The second best manga about love, as far as I'm concerned, exploring the nature of the emotion, human weaknesses and imperfections, and overall just a great character-driven story.

Great Teacher Onizuka. Reaction: 9/10. - I admit, I was getting a little bored with the series during the lost fieldtrip money arc, but those last 100 chapters more than made up for it. Overall I think it's an excellent story with great humor. I have to say that the art can be a little cluttered, and character designs are often hard to differentiate, but the fact that Onizuka really is one of the greatest characters in anime/manga makes up for it in my book.

Monster. Reaction: 10/10. - It's a masterpiece. I can't think of much to fault the manga for, and unlike some critics, I absolutely adore the ending. Best manga ever made? I dunno, since I haven't read every manga out there, but as far as I'm concerned, it definitely is one of the greatest and a work of almost unparalleled quality.

Maison Ikkoku. Reaction: 10/10. - I'm surprised at the anime's ability to turn one chapter into a 22 minute episode without things feeling slow. But I'm also surprised at how much more story there is in the manga that the anime leaves out. But in either form, Maison Ikkoku is my favorite love story, and that has to do with how "real" Kyoko and Godai feel to me. Character interactions don't feel forced, there's no sappiness, and yes, while Takahashi's sense of humor and ridiculousness makes it seem not that realistic, it's still a damn funny, well-written, and characterized series. It was an excellent manga, and I'm sad to finish it. 

Excel Saga volumes 9-26. Reaction: 10/10. - I think the fact Excel Saga is now my second favorite manga of all time says a lot about how awesome it is. I said this before in the Greatest Manga Series thread, and I'll say it again: I dare you to find a smarter, funnier, well-crafted, well-drawn, well-scripted, and well-cast manga.

You can't, because there is none.   

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon volumes 7-11. Reaction: 8/10. - It may be blatantly formulaic, but it doesn't hurt my enjoyment of the story one bit. The Pharoh 90 and Dead Moon Circus arcs were both awesome, Sailor Saturn is cool, character development improves, and this new arc against Sailor Galattica is taking the story towards an interesting direction for it's finale. Certainly, this is a manga that gets better and better as you read through it, and I'm interested in seeing how it all ends in volume 12.

Codename: Sailor V volume 1. Reaction: 9/10. -  I thought this was honestly genuinely funny, and lacked some of Sailor Moon's repetitive drama. The fact that Minako is a funnier, more interesting character to me than Usagi helps it a bit as well. I appreciate a good, pure comedy, and I think this series really works as that, so I'm hoping volume 2 will be just as good.

Rurouni Kenshin volumes 8-10. Reaction: 9/10. - The Kyoto arc still hasn't picked up steam, but it's certainly well-written so far. I know that this arc gets really good, so I'm hoping that the return of Aoshi, teappearance of Hiko, and the reunion of Kenshin and Kaoru at the end of volume 10 is a signal for the excellency I've been promised in future volumes to come.

Berserk volumes 8-11. Reaction: 9.5/10. - I...am not in love with this series. I don't know why; it's awesome. Guts, Griffith, and Casca are great, well-developed characters and the Golden Age arc is excellent, but I'm not getting "feels" for it yet. Eh, there's still two volumes left of this arc, and I really do like it to consider myself a fan of it. You've got me invested, so win me over Berserk!

Slam Dunk volumes 4-6. Reaction: 9/10. - That basketball game was looooong, but still, it was pretty awesome. Sakuragi's behavior did annoy me at parts, though, but I still like him. I wish I could elaborate more on what I liked and disliked, but's it's been two months since I read these volumes, which shows me that I need to do these progress logs more regularly. 

Buso Renkin volumes 2-4. Reaction: 6.5/10. - It's not bad. I think it has some pretty good comedy moments, myself. I like Moonface's design. But...the story isn't that great, none of the characters besides maybe Papillon are actually interesting, and it tries to mix ridiculousness and dramatic parts too unevenly to make it work. I can't believe Watsuki made this after Kenshin, because it certainly feels more like a work by an unexperienced mangaka rather than someone who created a story that was excellent right off the bat and got/gets even better to the point of being consider one of the greatest mangas of all time. I'm still going to finish it, eventually, but geez, what happened Watsuki?

Eyeshield 21 volume 1. Reaction: 8/10. - Still a funny and likeable sports series, and hopefully I'll get to finish the story this time now that I'm reading it instead of trying to watch it on sub-only dvd's.

Akira volumes 1-2. Reaction: 8/10. - I can't say I really like any of the characters in this story, but I do think it's ideas are interesting, and the story is good. More or less though, I love the artwork, which is some of the most detailed I've seen. It's so high quality, it looks amazing even by modern standards. I'm just hoping that now that Akira has awoken the characters will grow on me more so that I can enjoy the story better than I have.

Dr. Slump volumes 1-4. Reaction: 9/10. - Oh god, I forgot how funny this series was! This series really feels the most "Toriyama" of all his manga, to me. Even though I prefer Dragonball by a significant margin, this series is the fullest expression of Toriyama's sense of humor and artistic imagination. More importantly though, it's hilarious, and stands the test of time. I'm glad the second manga I ever read still holds up to be one of the best manga comedies I've read to this day.

The Prince of Tennis volume 2. Reaction: 7.5/10. - This volume wasn't all that bad objectively. The matches between Ryoma and Inoue and Ryoma and Kaido were pretty logical and well-done. None of the characters in this series are actually well-defined, at least yet, but I guess I have to give my "guilty pleasure" manga more credit for having parts that really are, actually, pretty well-written and decent.

Case Closed volumes 1-3. Reaction: 8.5/10. - Nothing different from what I've already seen multiple times in the anime, so overall pretty great stuff. With this earlier stuff, though, I think I prefer watching the anime to reading the manga. The anime shouldn't have changed the ending to that one story in volume 3, though. That sure bit them in the ass when Ai Haibara shows up in volume 18. 

Zatch Bell! volumes 5-6. Reaction: 8/10. - I still like this series, but I forgot how formulaic and..."shonen-y" it is in the begging. Still fun to read and packed with great Raiku humor and characters, but definitely not as good as I remembered. I guess the sheer excellency of Animal Land and to an extent Hunter X Hunter have simply spoiled me when it comes to shonen series. 

Pokemon Adventures volumes 1-9. Reaction: 9/10. - Pokemon Adventures is awesome, the best Pokemon story ever. I wish the anime was as good as it. Seriously, the Yellow arc is one of my favorites in any manga, and I think the GSC arc will be even better from what I'm reading of it. Pokemon really has not ever been more epic. 

Black Cat volumes 4-8. Reaction: 9/10. - Black Cat continues to endear me with it's characters and story, and now that Creed's rebellion has started, things can only fet more interesting from here on out. Certainly underrated, and it makes me want to check out the anime. If Train really is as different in it as I've heard he is though...

Shaman King volumes 1-2. Reaction: 7/10. - VlordGTZ loves this series, but two volumes in...and I think it's just alright. There really isn't anything to it that's bad, but at the same time, there was little that stood out to me, and it's type of stories, humor, and character are very "shonen," for better or worse. I'll see where it goes, but after they spend 2/3 of the volume on one battle this early on...

Oishinibo volumes Izakaya: Pub Food, Rice, and Vegetables. Reaction: 9/10. - A great manga about cooking. Informative, likable, and interesting, I really liked this manga and it's a shame it's so under the radar considering it could have had great appeal among food-loving folks everywhere. I managed to buy 4 of the volumes recently, two of which I haven't read yet, so I'm going to eagerly swallow up more of this series until I'm full!

Hikaru no Go volume 1. Reaction: 7/10. - I loved this anime when it was on Toonami Jetstream when I was in middle school, but revisiting this beginning...it's alright, but not that interesting to me anymore. Hikaru is a lot more of a jerk and "shonen"-protagonisty than I remembered, although Sai is still pretty cool. I'm going to read more, because I know where this story goes, and I have good memories of the anime, but this first volume disappointed me as a point of re-visitation.

Path of the Assassin volumes 1-3. Reaction: 9.5/10. - I picked this up accidentally thinking it was Lone Wolf and Cub, but I don't regret it in the slightest, because it's a good manga about a man's journey into power, helped in the shadows by his ninja assistant. I'm definitely interested in reading more of this, and starting Lone Wolf and Cub officially as well.

Drifters volume 1. Reaction: 8/10. - The creator of Hellsing's newest manga didn't disappoint me, filled my action-thirsts, but left me hungry for more. All I could ask for, really, and I'm curious to see what this series has in store in future volumes.

Fullmetal Panic! Sigma volumes 1-2. Reaction: 9/10. - I read this so I could vote in the Greatest Manga Thread, and liked it so much that I read two volumes worth before I knew it. I haven't watched the animes yet, so I knew nothing about the series going into it, but all the same I found it interesting and addicting and really like Sosuke and Kaname. After reading these volumes, I'm definitely going to watch the anime as soon as I can and go through this story in it's entirety, cause it really is quite good.

Beck volumes 1-2. Reaction: 9/10. - To make a manga about music work...that takes some real skill. This manga surprises me in how likable it is right off the bat and how well it portrayed the thrill of music despite not being able to convey sound. Heh, I should watch that dvd set I got of the anime sometime soon.

Ghost in the Shell volume 1. Reaction: 9.5/10. - This manga was excellent, and just as good as the anime, probably better than the movie. I mean, this volume contains the movie's basic plot, as well as elements that appear in Stand Alone Complex, but the characters feel more fleshed out, things are explained more clearly, and, honestly, the humor in this manga makes everything feel more palpable and natural than they do in the movie, and maybe Stand Alone Complex at parts. I certainly like the Major best in the manga's portrayal of her compared to her in the anime and movie, at the very least. I curious as to how volume 2 will go, considering the Major and Puppeteer are now one in the same. I also wonder why the anime adaptions of Ghost in the Shell make everyone so serious all the time...

Attack on Titan - I've completely caught up on the series, and I think it's okay, but not as great as everyone makes it out to be. Mainly, I am not very invested in a lot of the characters, even the better characterized and developed ones like Mikasa and Armin. It's a good series so far, and I'll keep up with it, but if the story drags along as it did in the first few chapters after the end of the Female Titan arc I wont hesitate to drop it. So Far: 7/10.

Deadman Wonderland - This has to be the second series I've ever kept up with that has ended. How was the ending? Pretty fucking shitty. I don't really think this manga was ever really good. I liked parts of it, which is why I stuck with it until the end, but really, it was a pretty poorly done series overall, and I like having one less manga to follow now that I didn't have to drop. Overall: 5/10.

Soul Eater - To think another manga I've been keeping up with for years would suddenly end...I was disappointed with the final chapter, but re-reading the whole final arc, it was actually quite good. I think the series' quality is pretty inconsistent as a whole, but it was honestly a pretty decent manga, despite some of the problems I had with it's plot and character developments. I'm glad it's over, because I felt a decline in quality after Medusa died that was exaggerated by the fact the chapters only came out monthly, but I enjoyed the ride, and I'll remember it fondly enough. Overall: 8/10.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run volumes 1-2. Reaction: 9/10.
Psyren volumes 2-3. Reaction: 8/10.
Revolutionary Girl Utena volumes 1-2. Reaction: 7/10.
Ouran High School Host Club volumes 1-2. Reaction: 7.5/10.
School Rumble volume 2. Reaction: 9/10.

Phew, that was a heck of a lot of manga. To think even more awaits me...