Transitioning to the manga

[goody2shoes]

Hey all, I'm a newbie who just finished the anime. I loved the characters and premise, but the story didn't really go anywhere and the comedy got tired pretty quick.

I'm hoping the manga will fix most of my gripes. Even though I will miss the slapstick insanity of the show I think the rest of it (comedic wit, characters, story and artwork quality) should make up for that. Therefore I've been researching the best way to get into it.

I live in Europe. I'm considering buying the first few volumes off amazon, but then I read about the digital edition. It's not available in my region, but if these are cheaper it may be worth it to circumvent that with a proxy. At least to get a taste, because without an e-reader I'll prefer reading TPB's.

So does anyone here know the quality and price of the digital release? What format does it use, and is there some form of DRM?

Thanks in advance!

[LumRanmaYasha]

Unfortunately, the digital releases are no longer being sold by Viz, so the only way to purchase the volumes is through print. 

[goody2shoes]

That's a shame! What about other outlets though? Amazon has previews of later volumes as Kindle books. Are those unlisted too?

[LumRanmaYasha]

I checked Amazon, and I don't see a way to preview the books on kindle, or a way to purchase them through there, and I checked other sites as well, and there really just doesn't seem to be any avenue to purchase the series digitally at this point in time.   

[Foggle]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to hear you're interested in the manga; it's definitely a lot better than the anime IMO.

Sadly, the ability to purchase digital versions was removed in late January of this year, right after the final volume released. This could be for any number of reasons, though my personal belief is that Viz dropped the license as soon as they finished the series. While annoying, it's certainly understandable, as Excel Saga was never a big seller, and it may have been too expensive to keep a hold on.

If you do decide to start picking up the print editions, shoot me a private message should you come across any volumes that are out of print/too expensive to afford - I'll do my best to hook you up! Also, the first couple of volumes are definitely enjoyable, but not too representative of what comes later. If you can, give Excel Saga until around volume 5 or so to impress you.

Happy reading!

[goody2shoes]

Thanks guys, you're very helpful!

Funny that the manga is supposed to get good at about the spot where the anime runs out of source material. I might get the first 6 volumes to start then, since 7 and 8 are the really expensive ones. I'll keep you posted when I make some progress.

[Foggle]

Great, sounds good. I hope you like it!

[Speedy]

As a fan of the anime, I've tried reading some of the manga but it's definitely challenging for a few reasons, not the least of which the different humor style than the show.  Also, the tone seems a bit darker and the art style less appealing to me.

That said, I appreciate how the anime wasn't just a 1:1 copy of the manga which is sadly all too common, so reading one and seeing the other gives you a different experience.  Related to that, I would've loved to see some stories in the manga adapted for the anime, such as the plot where Excel goes to jail.

[Foggle]

As a fan of the anime, I've tried reading some of the manga but it's definitely challenging for a few reasons, not the least of which the different humor style than the show.  Also, the humor seems a bit darker and the art style less appealing to me.

Yeah, the art style in the early volumes is pretty rough. Rikdo's illustrations become fantastic later on, though. It develops from looking like a shoujo manga to looking pretty much like the anime to looking unique and kind of cartoony.

The humor is certainly quite dark compared to the anime, but it becomes a lot sillier and less cynical over time. The first few volumes have this "angry at the world" edge that isn't particularly representative of the series as a whole. The biggest difference is mainly that the manga is much wittier and more character-based.

[Micki!]

First hi goody2shoes!!!

But moving on, yeah like Foggle said the humor is presented in a different (though in my opinion much better for my tastes) way, the humor is shown less as spastic movement and silly expressions, and more through clever dialogue and crass humor that actually reflects real life more, such as, for comedic effect when someone got hurt, they actually got seriously hurt instead of shrugging it off seconds later (yeah no such thing as getting hit by a truck, literally dying, and then reviving the next moment), yet the comedic effect works with the way Rikudou does it, and the few times he finally does rely on giving characters priceless expressions they are truly priceless, and while it's going for a more realistic approach, you'll still see some pretty exaggerated stuff going on, and it's glorious when it happens... Champagne, you'll know when the time comes... 

I'm so tempted to give examples of how fantastic it can get, but honestly, turning the page yourself and getting that first impression means too much to me, just try and carry on with the series, but don't lean too much on the anime and get your hopes up for 1:1 remakes of scenes, the anime took ALOT of liberties as you probably noticed

Also Elgala, the third member of Across, she adds alot to the series imo..!

I hope you'll stay around for a long time goody2shoes, it's nice still seeing fans finding their way here to discuss the series in all its shapes and forms..!

[Speedy]

Speaking of Elgala, I kinda wish J.C. Staff would make a sequel series just so Elgala could be adapted for the anime.  They could adapt some of the manga-specific stories while they're at it. 

[goody2shoes]

Thanks for the welcomes!

Micki, what you wrote about the humor sounds appealing to me. Not that I mind rubber hose animation and 4th wall jokes,  but I do prefer comedy with some weight behind it. I was curious about the early artwork too, so I snuck a peek at the scanlation for vol.1 and I was ...pleasantly surprised! Both by the humor and art. Seeing the differences from the anime definitely helped keep me interested. It is slower paced, and the scanlation quality did put a damper on my enjoyment, but I got through the volume with a smile on my face nonetheless.

The only thing that really bugged me seems to be the wordplay jokes. The editor's notes were helpful, buut... Joker will elaborate. It can't be helped, of course, but it's a bigger problem here than in the show. On the other hand, the pointless side characters won't be missed!

I'm still deciding on buying used vs new copies. I thought I would go for the 3$ a piece ones, but those cost more than twice that with shipping... So I'm sorry to use you guys as QnA, but what are your experiences and recommendations regarding this? Quality vs price of both the product and shipping? Btw, amazon is the best outlet, right?

[Foggle]

There aren't too many joke explanations, actually, especially later on. There's a lot of really great wordplay in the official translation which doesn't come across in the (honestly terrible) scanlation and is left up to the reader to understand/laugh at.

Whatever you do, don't read the scanlation of volume 2. It's awful...

[goody2shoes]

That's great to hear. And I'll stay away from the scanlation from now on.

[Micki!]

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