Currently Running Manga Discussion

[Spark Of Spirit]

Thanks for that. I heard Arlong came back, but didn't want to derail discussion in actual One Piece threads for why.

I'll think about it when I'm done rereading HxH.

On another note one of my friends bursted through Hxh (surprising me) and wanted to know if Greed Island was the spot where Togashi stopped caring and got bored. I then told him the Chimera Ant arc (that he stopped at the beginning of) was the one where he's been stalling for years and that upset him. He wanted more Kurapika and Leorio. Can't say that I blame him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Thanks for that. I heard Arlong came back, but didn't want to derail discussion in actual One Piece threads for why.

Well, he hasn't come back in the series since Luffy defeated him, but his presence as a character has been important at various points throughout the series. He's actually still considered one of OP's most serious villains since he was responsible for killing Nami's mother, so he's certainly not a character who would be taken lightly in the series. What's surprising is that he actually seems less like scum than he once did now, even if he did horrible things during his reign of terror.

On another note one of my friends bursted through Hxh (surprising me) and wanted to know if Greed Island was the spot where Togashi stopped caring and got bored. I then told him the Chimera Ant arc (that he stopped at the beginning of) was the one where he's been stalling for years and that upset him. He wanted more Kurapika and Leorio. Can't say that I blame him.

I wouldn't say GI is where he "stopped" caring, myself. For the matter he didn't stop caring with the Chimera arc, either, until half-way into it. But I understand your friend's frustration with the absence of Leorio and Kurapika. Its not just him, but a bunch of fans have been begging Togashi to bring them back for YEARS. Seriously, I almost feel as if Togashi is going out of his way to troll his own fans by stalling this arc out as long as possible. Its so irritating that a genius like Togashi who created YYH (my favorite shonen ever), wastes such talent by being a lazy bum. He could really make something truly spectacular if he actually cared to put some effort into keeping his series running on a consistent basis and not giving up on them three-quarters of the way in.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Sorry for digging up an old thread. I figured that since this was already a thing I'd just talk about the manga I currently keep up with here instead of the "What are you currently reading" thread.


There are 10 manga I'm keeping up with, though I only actually enjoy 6 of them, with the other four I'm just reading for completion's sake. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the newest chapters from this week.

All You Need Is Kill chapter 4 - I'm surprised no one here has talked about Takeshi Obata's newest manga yet. Especially since Viz was so excited about it that they're simul-releasing it in Shonen Jump Alpha. Though I was a bit disappointed that this series isn't another collaboration with Ohba, but instead an adaption of a popular japanese novel. Hollywood is turning that novel into a movie that'll be released this summer, under the title "Edge of Tomorrow" (All You Need Is Kill is a cooler name, imo, but wharves), so my guess is that the manga will run at least until the film's release.

Anyways, the plot is about earth being attacked by these creatures called "mimics." A new recruit  in the japanese defense force, Keiji Kiriya, finds himself trapped in a Groundhog Day-esque loop, relieving the events of his death on his first battle over again. However, he realizes things don't necessarily happen the same way in each cycle, and that he can change and affect what happens. He decides that the only way to beat the loop is to stay alive, so he exploits the loop by using each experience in the battle against the mimics as a means of training, since battle experience is the only way to become a better soldier and increase the odds of his survival. In chapter 3 he came to the point where he was strong enough to actually kill a Mimic, but his weapon still isn't useful in destroying large quantities of them. In the latest chapter he visits the engineer of the Defense forces' top solider in order to get her to make him a battle axe...and that's basically all that happened this week.

I'm finding the story quite interesting so far despite it's familiarity, and a lot of that is because of Obata's always excellent artwork. I particularly love Keiji's facial expressions whenever he realizes something. It is SO much like Light's whenever he concocted a scheme or was pleased with the progression of his plans. So that amuses me on a certain level. It's too early in the story to really see where it'll go, though I suspect there'll be a twist where Rita (the top soldier I mentioned) is also revealed to be trapped in the loop, but in any case I'm certainly enjoying it and it's nice to have another manga from a great artist like Obata to keep up with.

One Piece chapter 737 - I thought this was a pretty well-paced chapter. In the past few weeks they've seemed too rushed, but I think there was just enough balance of things going on in this one. I think the best bits of the chapter for me was "Lucy" talking on Burgess and the gnomes' plan to stop Sugar's ability. The latter had me laugh out loud at how ridiculous it was, but this IS One Piece so I can totally see it working (though it probably won't). I am surprised that Cavendish has been turned into a toy, especially since he was built up and had a fair amount of screen time before, which led me to believe he'd have a lot more to do in the arc. Well, he probably will, alongside the other contestants who became toys, but I haven't been able to predict a thing in this arc, so I've got no clue what else he'll do in this arc. Overall, another solid chapter, though one thing still bugs me. What happened to Kinemon? He isn't with Luffy, Zoro, and Violet anymore. Where'd he go? I like the guy and he's still got a lot left to do so his absence has me curious. Hopefully next week we'll see what happened to him.

Toriko chapters 264 and 265 - At long last, the Gourmet World arc has started! And it seems we aren't wasting any time either, despite having a 1.5 year timeskip since the end of "part 1." I admit, I was startled at the fact Komatsu was already back with Toriko. For those of you who don't know, at the end of last arc Komatsu was kidnapped by the Bishokukai alongside all the other chefs who participated in the Cooking Festival. The Bishokukai's king, Midora, gave the condition that any chef who could make him say the word "delicious" would get to go home. Komatsu was able to, but he refused Midora's offer, because he believed that Toriko would come for him. The end of part 1 of the series was Toriko getting over his defeat at the hands of Starjun and letting Komatsu be kidnapped and deciding to venture into the Gourmet World to get him back.

I'm sure everyone expected that there would be this whole arc where Toriko had to survive the harshness of the Gourmet World while taking on the Bishokukai's top brass in order to get Komatsu back; the standard rescue my friend shonen plot. Nope, no time wasted on that. Apparently Toriko got Komatsu back after only six months in the Gourment World, and then they just decided to stay there for an additional year in order to train. While this was a jarring direction to take, I think it's for the best. Midora already decided to let Komatsu leave, so it's not like he'd have any problems with Toriko coming to get him. He doesn't have anything against Toriko, and while Toriko does have much against the Bishokukai, he's not stupid enough to challenge the entire organization by himself. Deciding to just get stronger and then come back to the human world to devise as strategy with the IGO and the other heavenly Bishokuya is a much smarter and sensible idea. I do expect that we'll see a flashback at some point showing Toriko reuniting with Komatsu and maybe encountering Midora face to face, and I'll be interested in seeing that.

Chapter 265 was depressing, though. Midora's Meteor Spice totally fucked up the human world; there is no naturally growing food anymore except for Almond Cabbage. Whatever other food there are is scarce and high cost, and people have to live on food pills. And everyone looks destitute, poor, and hungry. It's fucked up. It might not seem like a big deal compared to other series, but this is Toriko we're talking about. In this manga food is the most precious thing there is. Economies, cultures, media, societies, ALL of them are founded on the abundance and appreciation of a wealth of good food. Midora's Meteor Spice destroyed EVERYTHING. Now everyone is surviving only on food pills? In the world of Toriko? That's really depressing. I didn't think Toriko of all mangas could make me feel depressed, but Shimabukuro gets the point across clear. But only just enough so that we get the idea, as the end of the chapter features Toriko's return, with him showering the Human World with the "souvenirs" he's brought back from the Gourmet World. I like how the chapter went from depressing to uplifting like that, and how fast this return is going. The next chapter should feature Toriko talking with the IGO about what he's learned about the Gourmet World. He's brought back a lot of food, but even if they can reproduce some of it, they probably won't have enough to support the whole Human World for long. I'm sure part of Toriko's problem is going to focus on remedying that, so that'll be interesting to see.

Toriko's just as great as ever, and part 2 is off to a great start. I hope the new arc will continue the trend of excellence the series has had for a good while now.

Magi chapter 213 - The tension in this chapter is so delicious. Both Sinbad and Kouen's households are totally at each other's throats, and have schemed ways of checking the others power or intimidating them. I loved Muu and Sinbad's "pleasant" conversation especially. I really feel bad for Alibaba here; he's way in over his head, and it's clear even to him that Kouen is just using him to bring Balbadd in line and get Aladdin on their side, but it's the only way he has at helping Balbadd at all. Anyway, the summit is finally starting now, with the three magi, Aladdin, Yunan, and Titus (wasn't expecting the latter to show up, but it makes sense) arriving and Aladdin finally going to tell everyone the secrets about their world. I'm guessing a flashback arc will be in order? That would be interesting to see, since we know only a bit of King Solomon's story so far. And any excuse to have Gyokuen be in the story more is a-okay in my book.   

Detective Conan chapter 885 - The newest mystery is kinda ridiculous. I think the manga's already done the whole boyfriend cheats on his girlfriend something bad happens to her plot about two dozen times by now, but it's the fact how the two suspects so clearly have animosity against the victim yet he's still hanging around them that makes it kinda dumb to me. Anyways, the chapter was still incredibly entertaining because it features Haibara trolling Conan and that never stops being hilarious. I loved it when Conan got that evil look on his face when he was talking about getting Amy to bug Haibara with the phone. While the newest mystery doesn't look to be that interesting, it also doesn't look like it'll last long. I really want to get back to Sera's plot soon, though. I'm dying to see what's up with that.

Attack on Titan chapter 54 - I don't know what's more stupid. The fact that they thought they could dress up Armin as Historia and fool people or the fact it actually worked or the fact that one guy fell for it so hard he actually started to molest Armin. Seriously, are these guys retarded? I guess I did get a laugh when that guy later said "I thought you were a girl...I used to be normal, but you've made me like this! You're going to take responsibility right?..." It's so stupid it turns around and becomes hilarious. That's great in a less serious series, but not really a good thing in a manga that wants you to take it seriously.

Moving on, the actual core of this chapter was pretty good. That asshole president guy who was delaying everyone's escape from the Trost arc is back and Levi's convinced him into a mutually benefitting alliance. The guy's became likable pretty quick, since he actually seems kinda smart (I mean, he actually pointed out to his grunts how stupid it was for them not to check if the Eren and Historia they kidnapped were actually them or impostors) and sympathetic since he does want to keep his company afloat and if he resists the government everyone in his company will be killed.  So that was nice. Eren and Historia's conversation didn't do much for me, but her flashback to her childhood showing a teen Ymir and a way younger Historia raises some questions about her and possibly the other psudeo-titans. I'd really like the manga to get back to addressing that stuff soon, but it looks like now it's going to focus on Levi's coup against the government, which is something that could be interesting but feels more like a distraction for some reason. Overall, it was an ok chapter a couple moments of stupid aside.

Naruto chapter 663 - Ugh, I appreciate the attempts at making Sakura seem useful, but still this whole damn situation seems like total filler. And I could care less about Karen using her Uzumaki powers or whatever bullshit. Really nothing good happening here except maybe Orochimaru being more active in the battle, but otherwise another boring ass chapter dragging this battle out longer than it needs to.

Bleach chapter 567 - I suppose it's nice to see Rukia wining a battle for once, since the last time that happened was 300 fucking chapters ago agains Aaronero. Still doesn't make it any less stupid. All the bullshit fear talk was more of Kubo's pretentious attempts to be deep again, and it doesn't even make sense because Rukia has already shown at least surprise in the damn previous chapter alone. On a certain level, though, the idea of Sode no Shirayuki's true power and Rukia becoming technically dead for a while is kinda cool, and her defeating the guy was kind of badass, but it's still not not good writing whatsoever. Sigh...I already miss the Mask de Masculine battle. At least he was entertaining with how over the top he was...

So, to cap off, here's how I'd rank this week:

1. Toriko - 9/10
2. Magi - 9/10
3. One Piece - 8.5/10
4. All You Need Is Kill - 8/10
5. Detective Conan - 7.5/10
6. Attack on Titan - 7/10
7. Bleach - 5/10
8. Naruto - 1/10

Pretty average week of manga for me.

So what are you guys keeping up with? Thoughts on your series' latest chapters?

[Grave]

I'm not following much (Manga interest is dwindling. Done with anime).

Bleach and Naruto are the only series I follow.

Worst chapter I've read in a while for Bleach, although I'm anticipating the next. For Naruto, I have no words for it other than why do I continue to put up with it.

[LumRanmaYasha]

This week was really lackluster. The fact that neither One Piece or Magi had new chapters AND the Conan translators are late with the newest chapter didn't help.

All You Need Is Kill chapter 5 - A setup chapter. It doesn't establish much aside from the fact that Kiriya is now an extremely skilled combatant thanks to going through 80 cycles of battles, though the monotony of it has bored him terribly. Basically the point of it was to establish a reason for Rita to notice Kiriya's skills and take an interest in him, which will likely mean she'll have a more active role in the story now. Was by no means a bad chapter, but wasn't very interesting either.

Bleach chapter 568 - Ugh. I thought Kubo was finally going to allow Rukia to be useful again, which is why I gave the last chapter a bit of slack, but NOPE. Rukia's whole attack was inefective and the whole chapter is her being overwhelmed by creepy Quincy. And of course Byakuya shows up to bail her out and avenge his prior defeat. Yeah, I am so excited for that no I am not fuck you Kubo. I know what the outcome will be. And I don't give a damn.

Naruto chapter 664 - God, most of this chapter was more time-wasting nonsense. Well, I guess at least that some significant things did happen. Madara disposing of the Six Path Sage's tools, them appearing before Guy's group, the fact that the half of the Nine-Tales in Minato has probably been captured now,  and then lastly Madara showing up before them. I don't care about this, because I know the end result is going to be the same, and I'm sick of the battle being dragged out so much. It's lasted nearly 100 chapters by now, with loads of distractions and other things yes, but still, and with Kishimoto's pacing I fear it going on for another 50. Like most chapters, this was a wash where I can't care about anything that happens because I'm bored and I know what ultimately WILL happen. So, yeah, another bad chapter of Naruto, like that's any surprise.

One-Punch Man chapter 34 -  A lot happened here, with the aliens being overwhelmed by the S-class heroes, some destructive beam going to be fired on them, and Saitama reaching their leader, and the telekinetic alien Gelunganshp attacking him. The maze sequence was good, but not one of the best animatic-esque scenes the manga has done so far. But while the chapter certainly moved the story forward, I can't say I felt very invested in it either. Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting, though of course whenever Saitama fights it usually is. 

Toriko chapter 266 - Weeks like this make me so happy that Toriko exists. Even if this was just a setup chapter, it was still full of entertaining moments beginning to end, while moving the story along at a good pace. I don't think they've found Acacia's main dish so easily, though. It's probably hidden somewhere back in the gourmet world, instead of that treasure box. The mysterious figure in the tree will probably explain all. Other than that, I was surprised Toriko so readily agreed to marry Rin. Reminded me of Goku agreeing to marry Chi-Chi in a way, except Toriko legitimately has good reasons to want to marry Rin since she's supported him through tough times and was responsible for helping him regain his confidence after losing to Starjun and Komatsu's kidnapping, so he clearly knows she cares about him and of course he has mutual feelings. Though, of course he was quite unromantic to just agree to marry her like that, but Toriko has never been one to beat around the bush either so it makes perfectly in-character way for him to respond. Anyway, I'm glad to see the series isn't wasting time in resuming the story, and I hope the next chapter brings to light what the focus of part two's first arc will be.

Rankings:

1. Toriko - 8/10
2. All You Need Is Kill - 7/10
3. One-Punch Man - 7/10
4. Bleach - 1/10
5. Naruto - 1/10

Pretty bad week to be honest. Only the new Toriko was an enjoyable read for me. Hopefully Magi, One Piece, and Detective Conan come back next week and All You Need Is Kill is more interesting.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Dammit, the translators are late with those new Detective Conan chapters! On the flipside, though, they are early with the new All You Need Is Kill, so I've got two chapters to talk about this week!

All You Need Is Kill chapter 6 and 7 - Kiriya really has become emotionally nulled after all these loops, if he could turn down casual sex with some like Rachel like that. The main point of chapter 6 was Kiriya becoming emotionally unable after suffering through 90+ consecutive loops. On the flipside, he's managed to become a hella stronger solider, even though the progress is gradual, the migraines are killer, and the pain of dying is as unbearable as ever. Still, 156 loops later, he seems to be on top of things now. He must survive this one. That's where chapter 7 comes in. Kiriya takes out a hella lot of the mimics and shows similar mercy to a fallen comrade that Rita did for him the first time he died. The end of the chapter is the most integral thing though. As I suspected, Rita knows about the loops. I'm betting the reason she's so powerful is because, like Kiriya, she's also going through them. No doubt she'll take a more active role in the story now. Looking forward to seeing how these developments play out two weeks from now.

Bleach chapter 569 - This...was actually...alright? Byakuya was legitimately badass without being obnoxiously so, and Rukia will be the one to finish As Nodt after all. Huh. Well played Kubo. First chapter I've "liked" in a hella long time. Honestly looking forward to seeing Rukia's bankai. She's been long overdue for a moment of awesome.

Magi chapter 214 - Very informative chapter. The old world was a lot different than I expected, what with all those different races and whatnot. I wonder how King Solomon managed to get humanity, "the weakest race," to prosper? And what happened to all those creatures? Lots of questions, but undoubtedly they'll be answers. Looking forward to more of the backstory. One problem I do have, though, is that there seems to be a new translator, who obnoxiously puts text bars with frivolous spammy comments that pop up on the pages after 30 or so seconds, covering up the actual text. Very obnoxious and annoying. I hope this won't be an issue next time.

Naruto chapter 665 - This..was...also alright? WHAT IS HAPPENING? I actually liked Obito asking what he meant to Madara, and defying him, choosing to be his won person than a mere extension of his will. There was still some overdrama, but otherwise, this was a very likable chapter, a rarity for this series.

One Piece chapter 738 - Hey, a chapter focused only on one plot point! Haven't seen one of those in a while. But a very good chapter too, with the battle against Sugar finally starting. I expect Ussop'll have to take her on directly next week, since the gnomes'll probably be taken out/occupied by those of them who were turned into toys. I'm also hoping for Robin to fight Trebol. That probably won't happen, but it'd be nice to see Robin get a significant fight for a change. Overall, good chapter, and hopefully next week we'll get more of the fight with Sugar.

Toriko chapter 267 - Wasn't expecting Ichiryu's full course to be completed that quickly, but man, was it awesome. The whole point of the course was to create a sustainable food supply, the ingredients used to help hatch and raise the Billion Bird and get it to re-populate quickly. With that many offspring, the Human World should no longer suffer from hunger or terrible food pills! Though they'll still need to find more food, since people can't just get sustenance from the Billion Bird alone. They'll undoubtedly have to go back to the Gourmet World for that. Otherwise, I enjoyed seeing Livebearer again, and the humor in this chapter was perfection. Two things interest me, though. The first is the old Nitro-looking creature that was watching Toriko and company form inside that tree. It'll likely play an important role in future events, and shed some light on Ichiryu's past and maybe more on the Nitros too. The second interesting thing is that we finally know what happened when Toriko found Komatsu again. The Bishokukai had already left somewhere, except for one...Midora. I REALLY want to know how that meeting went down. Obviously they didn't fight, but I can only wonder what Midora must have said to Toriko. Hopefully Shimabukuro reveals more about the Bishokukai's intentions and goal in the  Gourmet World soon. Otherwise, another great chapter, as always. I gotta say, Toriko really is the most fun manga in Jump right now.

Rankings:

1. Toriko - 10/10
2. All You Need Is Kill - 9/10
3. One Piece - 9/10
4. Magi - 9/10
5. Naruto - 8/10
6. Bleach - 7/10


So yeah...a pretty good week. A tremendous step up from last time. Not a single one of these chapters failed to entertain on some level, and Naruto and Bleach of all things managed to be competent for once, a rarity! Hoping the translators FINALLY put up new Conans next week, and otherwise, just hoping for more goodness all around.

[LumRanmaYasha]

It seems that Magi is about at the halfway point in it's story. With all that went down in Magnostadt, and King Solomon's backstory finally being revealed, I expected as much. It'll still be running for about 5 more years, at any rate, and since the manga has only gotten better and better as it's gone on I eagerly await what Ohtaka has in store.

One interesting thing to note is that she plans to kill off some characters as the story goes forward. This makes sense considering a war of some sort is inevitable at this point, though it's a toss-up as to who will have to go (though I have my bets...).

[LumRanmaYasha]

Still no new Conan scans. Plus, since they were early last week with the new All You Need Is Kill, I don't have a new chapter to talk about this week. In spite of that, it was far from a bad week.

Bleach chapter 570 - As Nodt was taken out too quickly. I would've liked more of a battle. I didn't care for his backstory since it was yet another one of Kubo's failed attempts to be deep and make his villains sympathetic which always rings false to me. I do like Rukia's bankai form. She looks a lot like Sode no Shirayuki did in the Zanpaktou Rebellion arc in the anime, which is neat. I guess the most interesting thing about the chapter was Yachiru actually doing something for once and punching that one quincy. Maybe we'll finally see her fight? Nah, this set up is clearly for Kenpachi to come to her rescue. It's pretty obvious. I can't say I hated this chapter this week either. Wonder how long that'll last.

Magi chapter 215 - The secret of Alma Thorran was a lot different than I expected, what with all those other races and having it's own god and everything. The most disturbing scene in the chapter was those giant trolls using honey covered sticks to scrape up live humans and put them in jar containers, like some kind of ants. That's easily more fucked up than anything in Attack on Titan so far. I would've liked to see HOW King Solomon united all the races under his rule, instead of just jumping forward to that. I still want to know how the Djinns became Djinns too, but that should come in time. I seriously wonder what Gyokuen did to destroy Alman Thorran and just who she was talking too in this chapter. I also still want to know what Ithnan's deal is, and why he was one of the few residents of Alma Thorran that was transferred to the new world. Suffice to say, it was a very interesting chapter that answered questions and then raised more. I expect even more surprises next week.

Naruto chapter 666 - Um, this wasn't a bad chapter, but it also wasn't an interesting one. I can't buy Obito's hell face turn like this. It's too sudden and while it makes sense it leaves no impression or impact to me, though a lot of that's because he was a shitty ass villain in the first place. I didn't really care about anything that happened in this chapter as a result even though Kishimoto clearly tries to make it seem meaningful. At least this whole Naruto is dying thing should end soon now. And with Guy on the scene, presumably with the Sage of Six Paths' tools, hopefully this means the end is near for this battle. I can only hope....

One Piece chapter 739 - I was hoping for Ussop to fight Sugar and Robin to fight Trebol, but instead the dwarves got captured. Hopefully they'll get to fight next week, though. Lots of information was told in this chapter. I'm not sure what I think about Solider-san being the gladiator who won 3,000 matches, since I don't remember any set-up for that before. I do hope Rebecca won't go down this easily, but since this match'll probably turn into a three against one fight against Diamante hopefully she can get out as the last one standing in the end. Overall, good chapter, lots of stuff going down and revealed, and honestly, this is probably the best chapter since Luffy vs. Don Chiouji (or whatever his name was).

One-Punch Man chapter 35 - Wow, finally an opponent Saitama can't defeat with one punch. This fight should be interesting. Gelguganship died easily, as expected, but it was still fun to see. Not sure I find what happening with Genos and Blizzard's group to be that interesting by comparison, but it still is good stuff. A solid chapter overall.

Toriko chapter 268 - And so Toriko finally has the drink in his full course menu! Not much to say about this one. A slow chapter, but one crammed with good sentiment and humor. Those eyelashes... 

Rankings:

1. One Piece - 10/10
2. Magi - 9.5/10
3. Toriko - 9/10
4. One-Punch Man - 8.5/10
5. Bleach - 6/10
6. Naruto - 5/10

Not as good as last week, but for the most part still enjoyable. Hopefully they finally upload the new Conan chapters next week. It's been like a month already...

[LumRanmaYasha]

Ooh, looks like Viz is licensing Assassination Classroom.

No surprise, since it was pretty much the number two series in Jump for the nearly the entirety of last year, and the seventh highest grossing manga in volume sales for the first half of 2013. It's easily Jump's biggest new hit and since it's young and in it's prime it should grow in popularity yet. Nice to see a comedy manga become a hit instead of another battle-shonen, at the every least. It'll be interesting to see if the series catches on in the U.S. as well.

It's still odd that Viz hasn't licensed Kuroko yet, though. Maybe Slam Dunk didn't do well for them...

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sports anime/manga do horribly here. Even classics like Slam Dunk.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Hmm, that's true. Probably why we'll never see the Hajime no Ippo (among other) manga licensed here. A shame really. I would love for Vertical or somebody to take a chance at important, classic titles in the genre like Ashita no Joe, but of course, that'll never happen (especially since Vertical's recent survey says they are only interested in getting series published after 2002 right now anyway...).

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, two things that do badly here are sports manga/anime and classic manga/anime which is why Case Closed and Lupin fell off so hard so fast.

As much as I would like to see more classics out here I'd say anything from pre-2000 not named Akira has little to no chance since otaku here simply won't buy it. Not even Tezuka stuff.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's just a sad truth, unfortunately. Unless they came out with a new anime adaptation for Ashita no Joe or other classic series from that era, and it actually did REALLY well on CR or something of that nature (which is highly unlikely as it is), the chances of any of those series getting licensed is literally zero. I can't exactly blame the publishers, but I wish there was a way to get more western fans for some of these series.

I'm just grateful for the excellent fan translations we've been getting for both the AnJ manga and both anime series. They really are a labor of love, and although the manga releases are slow and infrequent, they are of such good quality that you could almost swear that they were translated by official employees of Viz, themselves.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Yeah, two things that do badly here are sports manga/anime and classic manga/anime which is why Case Closed and Lupin fell off so hard so fast.

As much as I would like to see more classics out here I'd say anything from pre-2000 not named Akira has little to no chance since otaku here simply won't buy it. Not even Tezuka stuff.

Well, Viz is still putting out Case Closed, so it's clearly selling well enough for them. Take it from this ever sad Bobobo and Oishinbo fan; if a series ain't selling it's worth for Viz, they ain't going to bother with putting it all out, especially if it's a long runner.

But I think you are being a bit pessimistic about classic manga, or, at least, Tezuka manga. Digital Manga Publishing has been on an absolute roll with kick starters to help release previously untranslated Tezuka manga like Barbara, Unico, and Swallowing the Earth, and they plan to release even more of his overlooked stuff in the future, while Vertical has re-released Princess Knight and Twin Knights recently and holds the license to some of his other works like Black Jack and Buddha. Not to mention Viz is releasing digital volumes of Phoenix now too. There is clearly some market for classic manga, though it's admittedly not that big and so far limited to Tezuka stuff. Still, I would love to see DMP and Vertical branch out from just releasing classic Tezuka and take on other notable classics, though it seems unless it's relatively short they are hesitant to do so.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Hmm, that's true. Probably why we'll never see the Hajime no Ippo (among other) manga licensed here. A shame really. I would love for Vertical or somebody to take a chance at important, classic titles in the genre like Ashita no Joe, but of course, that'll never happen (especially since Vertical's recent survey says they are only interested in getting series published after 2002 right now anyway...).

Well, with HnI at least we were fortunate enough to get the anime about a decade ago (and with a surprisingly decent dub, IMO). The first anime is the best part of the entire series, anyways, and IMO it is superior to the manga. The manga itself really fluctuates in quality past the Championship Road arc, with some really high points and low ones as well, but never quite reaching the heights of anything up to Ippo's 2nd title shot.

The manga is also ridiculously long, being currently at over 1,000 chapters and still going; although it at least looks like it has a clear ending in site, even if that ending could still take a few hundred more chapters to get to at the current pace this series moves at.