Currently Running Manga Discussion

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While I haven't read this manga that you speak of, I have respect for any mangaka willing to take risks, as long as it's not in the realm of completely terrible writing.

That said, one thing that I've learned ages ago are that 90% of anime and manga fans are absolutely horrible when it comes to series of this nature. They just want to see the same thing dealt to them in predictable fashion. They have no concept of actual quality writing and the sense of creating a story with consequences, because they just want escapism and anything negative that's not completely calculated reminds them too much of real life. Either that, or it's "Season of the Witch" syndrome, where they just don't want to see anything different, period.

Good thing Death Note came out when it did instead of in today's even worse society of rabid fans. I wonder how ape-shit people would've been over L's death now, as opposed to 10 years ago. Seriously, someone needs to force these people to read or watch something other than generic shonen manga. Show them some Tezuka or Urasawa or Urobuchi to mix it up a little.

[LumRanmaYasha]

You know, if the series was a battle-shonen, where people die all the time, then I doubt the reaction would have been nearly as negative. But Fuuka is a romance/slice-of-life series grounded in everyday life. Most people going into these kind of mangas these days only seem to care about seeing the two leads fall in love and get together and nothing else, and obviously, that's what happens in 95% of these series. They don't care if they are formulaic and keep things is stasis for too long or follow every cliche in the book. Rarely do the leads not get a feel-good happy ending. Much less they do get together only 30 chapters into the series, and then the female lead, and the titular character of the series mind you, dies less than a year into the manga's serialization.

That kind of thing will never happen in by-the-numbers series like Nisekoi. Which is, of course, why they seem to be the most popular.

I would understand the negativity if it had been poorly written or came out of nowhere...but it wasn't. Reading through the chapters near the beginning of the series and the ones building up to it, and there was plenty of foreshadowing in the narration and in characters' behaviors. And the execution was really well-done, and very emotionally potent. Which, of course, is why I'm sure so many people are upset about this, because if you were invested in the character (and I was), you would feel crushed and shocked at her death and the aftermath of it. I haven't read the author's previous works, but apparently he has pulled some dark developments in his previous manga before...which is all the more reason why this shouldn't have surprised people. As for the quality of those series, I've heard mostly positive things on his first one, mixed opinions on his second, but having not read them myself, I can't speak for how they turned out overall. But, what I do know is that so far I've found Fuuka very enjoyable, and I think it can continue to be in the future. I just hope the author sticks to his guns and doesn't succumb to fan or editorial pressure.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

On another note, am I the only one who finds the title "The Last Naruto the Movie" to be a fucking stupid name for a movie, even by Japanese misuse of English standards? That has to be the worst one that I've heard since "Embalming: The Another Tale of Frankenstein." I mean, seriously, do some of the people behind these properties even realize how ridiculous these names sound in English? Because I think that they do know that it's not correct, but just don't give a shit, either. Well, if nothing else, I suppose that it's just harmlessly amusing.

[Rynnec]

This whole thing reminds me of how the Lyrical Nanoha went apeshit over the developments in Force, where a bunch of fan favorites got their asses handed to them by the arc villains. They all lost their shit and declared the villains of that manga to be "overpowered" and other bullshit like that (because god forbid villains are actually shown to be competent), even though it's extremely common in action manga for the heroes to lose against the villains in the first act of the story.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, what happened in Fuuka is more atypical and consequential than that seems to be from your description, but yeah, I think most modern anime/manga fans just take things way too personally and overreact to things that don't go the way they expect/want way too hard.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I find I have less to say than usual about the stuff this week, partly because I'm just not feeling in the mood, but also partly because there is not much to say about many of them:

A Silent Voice chapter 59 - And so now the characters are preparing the move into a new transition in their lives. Shoya is afraid to lose the friends he's made, particularly Nishimiya, and refuses to accept her decision to move to Tokyo. But he has to realize that it's time for everyone to move on, including himself. Will he follow Nishimiya to Tokyo? Perhaps. No matter where he goes, though, he should be fine. He's no longer afraid to get to know other people.

Bleach chapter 603 - I sort of liked that Sternritter's despair at realizing they were just disposable sources of energy for him and uses their lives to revive his elite Sternritters. But...what's the point, even? They got killed so fast before, so what's going to be different now? I guess we really have to see Squad Zero struggle to fight these guys? Bleh.

Boku no Hero Academia chapter 5 - So Midoriya is now going to need to prove his worth to a hardass instructor who is infamous for giving out high failing rates. I'm curious to see how he'll succeed, considering he can only use his powers to limited effect. Outside of this, I really liked the scene where he stood up to that bully who used to pick on him, telling him he was just as worthy as him to be accepted into Yuuhei. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic between those two characters changes over time.

Fuuka chapter 37 - This chapter packed one heck of an emotional gut-punch. Very depressing and painful to see Fuuka's friends all slowly come to terms with her death and breakdown, and Yuu is so in denial that he spent an entire day waiting for her in a park, and didn't go to her funeral, and couldn't even shed a tear. Fuck damn. The end of the chapter promises "that was the beginning of the legend," and I'm definitely curious to see if this series has what it takes to become something truly fantastic.

GTO: Paradise Lost chapter 14 - So idol boy is the way he is because he had to perform oral on a cougar in order to get where he is and his career is still on the rocks? I don't know, but I found that incredibly fucking stupid. And of course Onizuka didn't actually get stabbed because he had a tomato juice can under his shirt and all that bullshit and he gets Sadako to reform her ways after just one talk because he's Onizuka and she's pretty so she doesn't have any real problems and whatever. God this was shit. I'll wait out the resolution, but I think I'll drop this series after this arc after all.

Hinomaru Zumo chapter 6 - A good chapter focusing on Ushio's doubts and Himomaru encouraging him by telling him that he respects him and he shouldn't give up. I wonder what his plan is to get Ushio and Yuuma to have a fighting chance in the rest of this tournament.

Kyoukai no Rinne chapter 190 - There isn't much I can find to say about this chapter, because it's a pretty standard episodic chapter for this series. Rin-ne getting gyped out of his half was hilarious, though.

Naruto chapter 698 - I actually could appreciate the dialogue between Naruto and Sasuke in this chapter and Sasuke reflecting on his history with Naruto and the actions he's taken until this point. Actually a good moment between them and strong resolution to the rivalry. It's unfortunate it's not as effective as it could have been, considering all the crap that has come before, but I can still throw it a bone for being well-done by itself.

Peephole chapter 45 - Every chapter of this series for the past few weeks has made me shot "oh fuck" out loud. This one was no exception. Holy shit is Kurosu screwed. I kind of think Miyachi won't arrive in time to bail him out. He might have to get his hands dirty for a change...and commit a murder himself. But can he do it?

The Seven Deadly Sins chapter 100 - Chapter 100! Woo! Hawk is alive! How?! I dunno, he just is. Anyway, nice little resolution chapter for this arc, and basically the series-long conflict that's existed since the very first chapter. Now, the question is, where do things go from here? Hopefully the direction will be made clear in next week's double chapters.

Shokugeki no Soma chapter 92 - Oh wow, both Hayama and Kurokiba tied? And so both of them will be proceeding to the finals!? I did not see that coming, but dang, this makes things even more interesting now. Soma and Hayama have their rivarly to settle, but Kurokiba is a dark horse with dangerous skills himself, so it could be anyone's win now. This series sure can get me excited. I can't wait to see how things will play out! 

Shonan Seven chapter 3 - Huh, this chapter was actually really entertaining. In some aspects, it reminded me of a kind of chapter I might see in SJG or OG GTO. I got a better grasp and investment in the characters than I had in the previous ones too. My interest in this series has definitely picked up a considerable bit.

Space Brothers chapter 238 - A nice, slow chapter focusing on the team relaxing the night before the big lift off, and then heading out in the middle of the night to get a look at the shuttle for themselves. Dang, I can't believe Mutta is FINALLY going into space. Next chapter should be incredibly emotionally rewarding.

Toriko chapter 299 - Aw, this chapter had one of those nice shonen moments where the protagonist comforts someone who, misguided, tries to kill him, and then offers him kindness in turn. And then the end of the chapter teases an epic showdown Toriko and the Instructor of the group of monkeys that attacked Toriko and co. and then were forced to commit suicide, Goritaurus. Toriko promises he's going to take down the cruel system of this continent, and I'm sure he'll succeed, but it ain't going to be easy I can already tell that much. Great chapter.

Rankings:

1. A Silent Voice - 10/10
2. Fuuka - 10/10
3. Shokugeki no Soma - 8/10
4. Toriko - 8/10
5. Boku no Hero Academia - 8/10
6. Hinomaru Zumo - 8/10
7. Peephole - 8/10
8. Space Brothers - 8/10
9. Shonan Seven - 8/10
10. Kyoukai no Rinne - 7/10
11. The Seven Deadly Sins - 7/10
12. Naruto - 6/10
13. GTO: Paradise Lost - 4/10
14. Bleach - 1/10

Hmm, a relatively shorter week than the last few have been, though I can't complain about that. Overall, these chapters were pretty solid, though only ASV and Fuuka were particularly stood out to me as great. Still, a lot of these chapters promised some good things to happen in the next ones, so I'm confident next week will be even better.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Promo video for the Shokugeki no Soma anime.

No animation or word of who'll be doing it, yet, but it's a cool trailer nonetheless.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Takeshi Obata's got a new manga coming out in Jump. Unfortunately, it seems it won't be another collaboration with Ohba. But the premise sounds interesting, so I'll give it a shot.

The other two new series set to come out in Jump look promising to me as well. Moreso than the last batch of series two months back, at least. I'll keep an ear out and see if they turn out any good.

With A Silent Voice ending next week I'll be down a Weekly Shonen Magazine/Crunchyroll manga, so I might as well finally check out Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Hopefully it's as good as it's popularity suggests it is.

[Nel_Annette]

...Did they seriously just announce a Part 3 to Naruto focusing on his and Hinata's kids? Dear god, it never ends. This series never ends!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah....well, I'm not reading it anyways, so however this part of the manga ends, I'll just consider it to be the overall conclusion to the series.

[LumRanmaYasha]

It's only a mini-series. I couldn't care less.

Besides, did you really think this franchise would just stop? It's way too big for that. Even with the manga over, we'll still be seeing plenty of Naruto spinoffs, media, etc. for years to come.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And I'll be happily ignoring all of it!

[Nel_Annette]

I feel obligated to ride this shit-fueled train right to the bitter end, right off a cliff and into the ocean.

[LumRanmaYasha]

There's no indication that Kishimoto is even writing the mini-series. Even so, there is no "end" to this thing, because it's a franchise. Think about stuff like Star Wars. That was over, right? But then they made a bunch of expanded universe stuff, and spinoffs, and prequels, and so on and on. This too. They will keep making new spinoffs and media for Naruto for years to come. The manga that this franchise has sprouted from is going to end. For me, that's the end. Unless Kishimoto makes a direct sequel to it, that's just going to be it, and anything else is irrelevant to me.

[LumRanmaYasha]

On another note, though I'm still far, far, far, FAR from being even close to caught up with it (I'm STILL only half-way into the first anime...), I've been checking out recent chapters of Hajime no Ippo for the last few months time and again casually, like I do with other series I've an established interest in but not caught up on like Gintama and Nisekoi, and while the fight with Gonzalez was very good from what I saw of it, the aftermath is what's really got my attention and has had me read the new chapters every week for the last few weeks. Not only has Ippo lost a match for the first time in 15 years (apparently) in what is his second loss ever, it was for the world title, so it was pretty devastating for both him and a lot of people around him, and Ippo's also in pretty damn bad shape now, to the point where his girlfriend (I think?) asked him to stop boxing, and Ippo's decided that the next time he loses a match, he's going to call it quits and retire. And then in the most recent chapter he went to go help his mangaka friend but he kept having trouble holding the pen right, and couldn't even draw a straight line. All this makes me wonder if he's got punch-drunk syndrome like Joe got in AnJ, and if so, if he's going to be going down just as self-destructive a path he did. Even though I'm not caught up, this development kind of makes me want to keep reading to see what happens next, so I'm pretty on the fence here.

I'm feeling the same way with Gintama too, actually, because the last few chapters have been really great and game-changing as well, and I've found myself reading the new chapters for it every week as well. This tells me I need to finally catch up with these series ASAP so that I can enjoy them properly. With Gintama I might wait and see if it ends after this arc because I heard that might happen and honestly Takasugi and Kamui are the fucking main villains of this series and they're basically succeeding in their goals right now and the final showdowns between them and Gintoki and Kagura respectively have been a long time coming...but Katsura hasn't shown up yet and I don't get how this can be the final arc and have Takasugi in it but not include him, so it might not actually be the final one. Either way, even though it's half as long, a chapter of Gintama takes legitimately three times longer to read than a chapter of HnI, so I guess I'll just try and catch up on the latter first. I'm going to have to wait until Winter Break in order to be able to marathon it, though, since I'm not going to have much time to waste the remainder of the semester and have other stuff I have to polish off in what I do have too.

In any case, you're caught up with HnI, right E-K? What do you think of the recent chapters and how the story might develop from this point on?